On the Far Side of the World
by Merral D'Avanos
Summary: SUMMARY CHANGE: The life of two modern assassins on a completely diffrent side of the globe. The world is riddled with conspiracy, and these two must step up to the challenge.
1. The Motorbike Shop

I've always loved the excitement and mystery of the Assassin's Creed franchise (which I am in no way affiliated with). One thing that dissapointed me though, was that no story was told of any other assassin around besides Desmond's story. What about the other assassins fighting their own battles all over the globe? Well, this is the story of one of those assassins.

Now, as a new writer on this sight, I'm sure many of you aren't expecting much as far as updating, length, or actual plot. I can assure you that writing is not a passing hobby for me, and this story I will take seriously.

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Chapter 1

"_Damn-it….Just when I was starting to get a good night's sleep." _Sam thought as his arm hung over his bed. His body felt comfortable enough to doze off, but the constant licking and gentle biting from a certain little grey husky on his hand kept him from getting those few extra hours he probably needed. _"You always start the day early as a chicken, huh.."_

"Alright, alright I'm up. Geez." Sam groaned as he threw his legs over the side and leaned forward to palm his face. The dog sat back on his hind legs to look up at him. In the early grey morning full or rain clouds, very little light came threw the window. With two beady green eyes glowing slightly up at him, Sam said, "You know, you look all out creepy this early in the morning."

The grey husky stood and started to walk out of the room as if to say, "Whatever. Just get up and get me something to eat."

Sam seemed to catch on to his attitude, and stood up. While stretching vigorously and yawning much more than necessary, he groaned, "Yeah, I'm behind you." His wrist felt slightly irritated and asleep, but after rubbing his forearm covered by a leather wrist guard with metal straps around it, his fingers moved more freely upon command. _"Maybe I shouldn't sleep with this thing on."_ he thought dismissingly.

After taking the short walk downstairs through a very narrow hallway, he opened a can of dog food and poured it into a cereal bowl next to sink. With an identical bowl, he poured himself some cereal and milk, then took both bowls and set them on the very small table that barely fit in the kitchen. The husky clambered up into a chair opposite of Sam, and sat poised on his hind legs to eat.

With a peaceful and quiet breakfast underway, the two ate in silence. Rain started to fall against the window, and the cloud's grey color lightened slightly as the sun rose a bit higher in the sky. When they both finished, Sam just threw the dishes in the sink while taking his shirt off. By the time he reached the bathroom upstairs in his small four room apartment, most of his clothes were off. His shower was quick, which gave him time to shave and brush his teeth in front of the mirror. His slightly damp brown hair gathered short on the left and increased in left towards the right until it covered his eye and hung down to his cheek. The darker portions of his hair hung jagged and higher on his head, giving him the appearance of highlights: a condition he was born with due to radically different ethnic parents. This always made him picture himself as a mutt, just like the stray he had taken in that was now clawing at the base of the door.

"Be out in two shakes, alright?"

Once the door opened, the dog shot in between his legs and perched himself on the toilet. Sam stalled a second to turn around and look at the pup using the toilet like a person. "I wonder where you learned that trick…" he mused while pulling on a long sleeve black shirt that hung baggy over his wrists.

Back in his room, he could see the clouds dumping all they had onto the poor pedestrians desperately trying to use their umbrellas effectively. It was still early in the morning, so there weren't too many people out, but the few who were sure felt the chill. While pulling on some slim grey jeans, he looked up at his phone charging beside his bed. 6:50. Still a little over an hour to open up the small garage and store front down stairs. _"Guess I could go down the street for a sec?" _With a form fitted black leather jacket on, complete with a hood portion, he said goodbye to his nameless stray pup and headed out the door into the rain and cold.

There were a few more people walking down in different directions on the sidewalk now. They all huddled silently, shivering, in an effort to keep warm on the way to the train station or bus terminal. Sam was the only one who didn't seem to be affect, despite the fact he didn't have an umbrella. The leather jacket he wore was nice and warm, thanks to the material and the armored padding along the ribs. On the back was a large letter A shaped symbol and eagle wings all embroidered in dark red; hardly visible in dark lighting. The hood pulled over his face fell to a point of his eyes like a small visor. His face was practically masked and hidden behind a shroud of shadow. His feet made small splashes in the water as he headed down the street.

-o0o-

The night sky was clear, but not a single star could be seen. The flashing, repeating, blinking, and flooding of Kyoto city lights put nature on backburner for those who dared venture outside the comfort of the city on vacation. Storefronts with flashing advertisements, television billboards, concession stands, cars, busses, and small bikes lit up the city better than the day ever could on it's own. On the sidewalk, two figures in white hooded jackets walked down the street side by side. One of the figures was tall, well built, and very proportioned. His form and stance was menacing and daring. The second of the two was much smaller than his companion, standing almost two feet shorter. His body was much, much slimmer, but athletically built and balanced. The only difference in their stand was his hand in his pocket.

"Sam.." the taller man whispered in a gruff and raspy voice that had suffered from years of heavy breathing and screaming. "Take you hands out of you pockets."

The young teenage boy did as he was instructed, but asked, "Alright, but why is this bad?"

"Putting your hands in your pockets gives you a delinquent vibe." the man said. "You may look like you belong in this city, but that won't mean your suspicion level is any better. Don't be afraid to keep your head tall and your arms at your sides; you arms ready for anything." They stopped at a crosswalk full of people waiting. "Appearing innocent and casual is a much safer bet."

Sam nodded slowly in understanding and admiration. What his mentor said made more sense than his own philosophy. It was obvious which one of them carried more years of experience and wisdom.

The light turned green, and they both entered the crowd that moved like one big mass across the street.

-o0o-

Sam stood in front of a small intersection, rain still falling and running off his clothes. A couple of people passed him by, wondering why he wasn't moving since there were hardly any cars out on the road. _"Strange how I remember all the little things…"_ he thought as he finished crossing_. _

A few seconds later, he stood in front of a small convenience store sized shop that had a big sign above the entrance that said, "Sakura Flower Bakery". This was probably his favorite store on the entire block. The home cooked little pieces of cake and fresh sandwiches were pretty good considering the price, although money was never an issue for him. The resources at his disposal were not unlimited, but any expense was almost negligible for him. The middle aged woman who owned the place was always very pleasant, no matter what hour of the day. Her high school aged daughter who worked the counter before school and in the evening was always especially nice to him. It wasn't hard at all to understand why. Sam had always wondered what going to school regularly, learning practically pointless nothings each day, and having pointless conversations with friends was like. One of the things he regretted before about being born into a life of espionage and conspiracy was the lack of an early childhood, but after seeing how many of those kids grew up, he soon recognized the regret as a blessing in disguise. He had learned far more than he could have in a normal life, and comradely and loyalty had never been absent in his life, although the occasional death of a brother or sister in arms was always gut wrenching. This train of thought brought his memory back to his deceased mentor who had always found a way to teach him something no matter what they were doing. If it was working on bikes, exercising, studying, planning, scouting, or even eating, there was always something notable to learn from.

His mind lost in thought had brought him home again, bag full of food in hand.

"I'm home!" he said while taking his shoes off and saw the dog sleeping under the small table. "Please, don't get up or anything. It's ok." he sarcastically joked.

The in the stairway hallway told him he needed to open up. Once the food was secured in the small fridge, he headed into the garage. The rattling garage door opened when he pulled on the hanging chain, and some cold rain leaked a bit onto the lip of the garage floor. Thanks to the rain gutters and the way the garage door slanted, not much water got very far inside. Whether it was sunny and bright or dark and raining like today, Sam could leaving his garage door open without having to worry about any weather complications, except on rainy days, he had to keep the door about halfway down.

He spent about twenty minutes heating up and bending some busted mufflers. The better part of the next hour was spent wrestling them on the tailpipes and resealing them with polymer. The tension in his arms help him work up a slight sweat. With the radio on in the background, the menial job he performed for no particular reason other than to keep up a front went by tolerable enough.

A rattling sound much louder than the speakers in the garage drew his attention to the garage door.

"Hello?" an older man's voice asked. "Anyone here?"

Sam pulled on the garage door chain all the way, revealing a round man with a receding hairline wearing a dirty apron standing beside a small three wheeled delivery vehicle with a small advertisement for a grocery store on the side of the door. "Broke down, huh?"

"Not exactly." the man sighed. "Do you work on delivery trucks?" he asked as he tried to shield his face from the rain that now died down considerably.

"Sure, as long as it has a motorcycle chassis and engine." Sam said, wringing his hands and tugging on his sleeve to make sure the wrist guard on his right forearm was completely hidden from view. "Put it in neutral and park it next to those old junkers"

With the small delivery truck inside, the garage was completely full. With a few unfinished bikes to the left, a few workbenches in the back, and a little tiny truck to the right, the little garage was comfortable full to its extent.

"So…" Sam looked it over for a few seconds, "What's wrong with it?"

"It keeps making a rattling noise under the hood somewhere." he said, "I've no idea what it could be."

"Start it up for me, would you?" Sam asked as he popped the hood open. The man nodded and the engine stuttered to life. Nothing seemed to be wrong at all. All the belts, brackets, fuses were in decent shape. There wasn't anything discernibly wrong other than the possible need for a tune up.

Once the engine started, the man got up and closed the garage door without giving Sam a second glance. Once Sam noticed, the door was already on its way down.

"Hey…" Sam trailed off, keeping his right arm behind his back. _"What the hell is he doing?"_ A thin cylindrical blade extended threw the cuff and about a hand's length part his middle finger from under his wrist. "I'd rather leave that open."

"Sato?" the man asked. "Sato Nakamora? Am I right? Cause, if I'm not, I came to the wrong shop."

The blade from Sam's cuff slowly slid back into his wrist and he stood up straighter and more relaxed. "Yeah, how do you know that?"

He pulled down his bottom lip and leaned forward to Sam. There was a small letter A shaped symbol that Sam knew all too well tattooed on the underside of his lip.

"Oh." Sam sighed with relief. "I guess an e-mail telling me you were coming was out of the question, huh."

"Like the disguise, kid?" the man laughed. "The fat belly was easy to put on, but thinning my hair was the hard part."

"Have we met?" Sam asked. "I know you're one of us, but I don't think I've ever met you before."

The man sat down on the bed of his truck. "I'm not surprised. We don't get many foreigners from America working all the way out here."

"Yeah, that's true." Sam just stood there, waiting for him to say something. More than a few seconds went by until the blank faced man finally spoke up.

"Oh, you want to know why I'm here, huh kid."

"Uh…yeah." Sam rubbed his hands together in impatience. _"Is this guy slow or something?"_

"Aren't you going to invite me in for a drink or something?"

"I don't drink." Sam said. "Not really conducive to good conditioning and metal clarity. You know, being an assassin and all usually means no hangovers in the morning."

The man stood up and pulled the apron off that was attached to an accurately shaped piece of gelatin. "Relax, kid. I don't either. It's just an expression. Can we go in now? I got something for you."

Sam obnoxiously bowed and waved his hand towards the door leading to the kitchen. In equal levels of sarcasm, the man bowed to him and stepped inside. Once the young husky under the table saw the unknown figure and immediately bolted upright to bark. Sam walked in behind him and closed the door. "Relax, he's with me."

They both sat in the two chairs in the kitchen to talk.

"So, I still never got your name." Sam said. "What was it?"

"It's not important. After we talk today, you won't be seeing me again. I'm retiring, so I'd rather not have anymore people know who I am."

Sam nodded in understanding. He knew a few assassins back home who retired. They wanted nothing more than to get away from all of it as much as possible. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know why you were requested to head this station?" the man asked.

Sam looked perplexed. "Um…Station?"

"Assassin den, waypoint, base, whatever the hell you want to call it, ok kid?" the man grunted in frustration. "Stay with me here."

"Okay…um, no I don't." Sam said in a monotone to control his anger.

"I hope your mentor taught you something about the medical field and not just about bikes. The mechanic shop is a front, I'm guessing, but now we want to use you and this place as more of a makeshift hospital for anyone who might end up wounded." the man used his hands to make gestures constantly as he spoke. "Here, in this quiet neighborhood, the heat is low, but it's also close enough to the city."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that." Sam said. "Has this been a growing problem?"

"Somewhat. Sneaking patients out of the hospital is getting more difficult. When one of our own ends up in the ER, people start asking questions." he said while pulling the rest of his disguise over his head, revealing a jacket almost identical to Sam's. His, however, was much more worn and beaten.

"Yeah, makes sense." Sam said as he leaned back in his chair. "This place is pretty small though."

"It's not about size, kid, it's about location. This place is perfect. The guild HQ is way to risky to be taking wounded back to after being treated."

Sam bent down to pat his dog on the head who had been nudging his leg with his nose for a while. "Ok. I got it so far. I'm going to need time to get this place ready."

The man got up and cracked his fingers. "Great. I can't tell you how much we need you to do this."

"Leaving already?" Sam asked. "You bugged me to come in and now you leave after like, a minute."

"Like I said," the man rubbed the back of his head with a tired and wear expression. "I'm tired and old. I just want to finish this and retire as soon as possible. It's not that I don't care about the cause, it's just I have a flight to catch.

"Oh…well, you want anything before you go?" Sam asked. "Airplane food makes some people gag. I got some food from the cake shop down the street. Believe it or not, it's not half bad."

"Nah. I'm good, but thanks, kid." he said "I'll head out the front. Junk that crappy little truck for me, would you?"

"Sure thing." Sam threw up a weak thumbs up as the front door opened and the man stepped outside while pulling his hood up. Sam closed and locked the door behind him.

"Okay, boy."

The little husky stood at attention, then followed his master out of the kitchen into the garage. "Look at this." Sam pointed to the truck. "Our friend left this here for me." The dog just looked up at him like he had no idea what he was talking about. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this piece of crap? It's smaller than a golf cart." After getting no response from the green eyed little ball of fur, Sam sighed. When he gave it a second look over, he noticed something on the seat and opened the small driver's seat door.

A hidden blade just like his, but much more worn looking, was sitting on top of a couple pieces of paper. A note under it said, "Thought you could use this, since I won't be needing it anymore."

Sam held it up to the light and noticed many shallow cuts and bruises in the leather that kept it together. The brass metal straps had turned slightly green, but after trying the blade mechanism, it seemed still usable. He turned to the dog and asked, "You want it?" the little pup turned away as if to say, "Don't force your junk on me."

The straps were hard to undo, but after wrestling it onto his left wrist, it felt comfortable. All the years of use had broken it in. With admiration, he flicked both wrists and smiled. _"Two really is better than one…."_

He gently let the blades fall back into their hidden places and picked up the envelope last. The only thing written on the front was the words from a stamp that said, "burn after reading". The one piece of paper inside was not something he wanted to see.

The first dotted line had a name written, which he paid little attention too. In the top right corner was a picture of a figure with dark grey hair. If he had looked more carefully, he probably could have discerned a few more features, but the sentence he noticed was down at the bottom. It read, "Assigned recruit to be trained by Sato Nakamora."

Sam balled his hand into a fist and crushed the paper.

* * *

I know that when reading an Assassin's Creed fic, you the reader probably expected something more exciting to happen, but I can assure you that the excitement you're looking for is not gone. I felt it was important to provide a realistic perspective to being an assassin and lliving in a big city. Not every minute is spent scaling buildings and fighting law enforcement, but that will happen when it has to.

Expect an update very soon. I usually write chapters by twos every other day.


	2. The Recruit

I am in no way affiliated with Assassin'c Creed

Just for FYI purposes, the monsoon season in Japan is brutal. I guess all the rain and clouds can be depressing to picture, but that can't be helped. As the story came to me, the weather was just like this in my head. I also want to stay true to this story as a realistic picture of what being an assassin in this modern time and place is like.

If you feel like there isn't enough action or killing yet, I promise you you will be satisfied later on. These characters deserve to be developed and understood.

As always, please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 2

He was completely nowhere in sight. Even after climbing up the drainage pipe on his neighbor's home to get a better view of the street, he still couldn't find the bastard who forced a recruit on him. This was supposed to be his vacation time, but the higher-ups had to fuck up all that. Fuming, he stood on the roof with fists balled and knuckles white. "I never requested a recruit!" he muttered to himself through clenched teeth. The rain had stopped now, but the clouds were still grey and listless overhead, giving the streets and alleys around him an eerie darkness. The weather is usually like this during the monsoon season, which Sam wasn't fully used to. Nothing he saw below him was discernibly visible. He was too far away and there wasn't enough light in the sky to help in his search. Having recognized his endeavor as a failure, he sighed and jumped off the building into a dumpster full of recyclables with arms spread out like a bird's.

It was hard to say what upset him more; the inconvenience during his down time, or that fact that he was now covered in trace amounts of milk, soda, and cleaning liquids. The rain clouds must have noticed this. Rain now poured in sheets like a massive showerhead in the sky had been turned on. _"At least I don't have to wash…_" he thought while pulling the hood over his head again and blowing on his hands.

For a second, he stood there and tired to figure out what to do next. Whenever agitated or angry, he usually went about doing all the things on his to do list that he could think of until his mind was at ease. Seeing as how there wasn't much else to do, he started walking back in the direction of his shop and decided to do just that.

First thing to do was get rid of that horrible eye sore in his garage. One of the headlights had been smashed as some point and the license plates didn't even match. The left door was almost off its hinges, and the back windshield had a massive crack. Without a second thought, he drove it the short distance to an empty parking lot.

Before he left it completely to the whims of the delinquent community, he checked all its compartments and slots for anything he may have missed. Having found not even a registration slip, he closed the door and walked away.

He now had two options. The first was to take to the streets and walk home, or brave the roofs and free-run his way home. With some pent up energy from being slightly angry still, he ducked into an alley and run up the fire escape. Within a few seconds, he was on the flat roof full of power lines. The way home would be a lot faster without turning every which way down below, but since there wasn't much else to do, he walked casually across the roofs, only running every so often to climb the ways and jump the gaps leading to alleys below. Some of the roofs had doorways leading to stairwells, and occasionally Sam would see one or two people having a smoke under their umbrellas. They would watch him with curiosity as the hooded figure ambled his way over ledges and across roof tops like it was an everyday activity.

When he saw the low roof of his two story garage, he slung himself over the side and dropped into the dumpster full of cardboard that he kept out of sight for just this purpose. With some endorphins pumping thanks to almost an hour of climbing and jumping, he felt much better and more relaxed. Above all, he felt hungry. After going back inside, he made a lunch/dinner for himself and the stray, then changed into a comfortable t-shirt before heading downstairs again.

Now that his down time had been officially halted thanks to the inevitable arrival of a recruit, he opened a small laptop to do some research and sat down at the small kitchen table. Beside him was the crumpled up paper of information regarding the recruit, but he didn't bother to read it. _"Whoever he is, I'll meet him when he gets here."_ he figured.

While milling through some old news articles and conspiracy websites about a large adoption agency involved with selective sperm inseminations, he closed his computer and decided to check it out.

Normally, if something like this peaked his curiosity, he would ride out and investigate the city, but right now he was stuck at home. He had to wait until the arrival of his apprentice, so going out anyway was out of the question. Whenever stuck at home, he usually wondered in his thoughts, which he didn't like to do. Reliving a past memory was never fun, especially if most of them were painful experiences. The only option was to go into the small living room that contained a small TV and a set of free weights, and exercise while watching the news. If stuck at home for whatever reason, this was the best option.

There are always stories on the news about disasters, homes catching on fire, or some sort of arson. Even the news reports about a rape case or life threatening assault didn't faze him as much as reports of large conglomerate companies using under-the-table activities to screw thousands of people out of their life savings or the reports of drug and human trafficking escalating. How else did companies affiliated with templars like Abstergo get their funding.

These things always gave him the rage strength to exercise when there was nothing to do besides sit around and be lazy. He did appreciate having spare time to rest, but in his mind, a minutes rest is a minute lost. To him, there are only a certain number of days to live. Better make good use of them before they're all gone.

The little grey husky just laid on the couch and watched Sam work up a sweat. His beady little green eyes bounced back and forth between Sam and the TV until the phone in the kitchen rang.

"Yeah..yeah…I'm coming…" he groaned while wiping his face with a towel. The phone grew obnoxiously loud until he brought it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked indifferently, "Yamaha parts and services support. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, this is Furokawa motors." the gruff voice on the other line said, "I'm looking for a green left side panel for a late nineties Kawasaki."

"_Oh, it's just another dealership." _Sam thought. A lot of calls like this came in from other shops wondering if he had a spare part they needed. As always, Sam gave them the same answer. "Um, sorry but, I don't have any in stock right now. I can call back if I come across one," Sam never called back, " but you might as well call another shop in the meantime."

"Oh, well thanks anyways. You wouldn't happen to need an air intake kit for a Yamaha 120cc would you? I have a surplus that I need to get rid of."

Sam leaned against the counter and wiped his brow. For the sake of actually putting an effort to run his shop, he stayed on the line and kept talking. "Well, come to think of it, I might."

-o0o-

The rain always comes down faster at night, but the breeze that carries it always dies down. Because of this, the streets were completely soaked and blackened by the water, but the shelter under a pavilion in a small park gave a small, short, very slim, and shivering figure the last luxury of being slightly dry. The figure's small hands kept pulling on the tip of the hood of jacket. A few remaining raindrops ran off the point that fell over the small figure's eyes.

In the late afternoon, the sky had already turned completely dark, and only a few cars dared to brave the streets. Everyone was inside, enjoying the warmth and serenity of their homes, but for the small figure in the park, life wouldn't let her indulge in the comfort of a roof.

She desperately tried to blow on her hands and give her fingers the lost ability to move again, but she couldn't feel anything. The only comfort she felt was the layered hooded jacket around her torso that was always as small as she was.

"_I should never had gotten out of that taxi so soon…" _she thought as a small little sigh escaped her mouth. _"It's way too cold to care about being tailed right now."_

Mustering up her remaining warmth, she stood, rubbed her hands together, and started to run across the park. She ran under one of the streetlights while passing by a small book store with a flashing sign still on that said it was still open.

The light above her illuminated the damp grey bangs falling over her eyes as she ran with her arms hugged close to her chest. Her grey and white jacket revealed an A shaped symbol on the wrist and on the back with eagles wings spread wide.

Up ahead was another store front still open, and she ducked into the store while rubbing her hands together and blowing on them vigorously. _"It's just for a second."_ she thought as she pulled down her hood and let her short grey hair flow freely around her ears.. _"I just need to warm up for one second."_

"Hello there!" a bright and cheery voice rang out from the other end of the bakery. The airy happiness of the young cashier behind the counter felt very ironic to her. "Would you like something to warm you up?" the cashier asked without hesitation.

"Um…yes I'd love that." the small framed girl said with a nod. "Hot oolong tea, if you have it." Her voice was very high and mellow; almost gentle and soft.

"Course we do!" the cashier turned around from the counter and poured boiling hot water into a paper cup with a sleeve around it. After placing a tea bag into the cup, the cashier slid on a lid and handed it over to the girl.

"Thankyou…" the girl said while standing on her toes to reach her drink. After blowing in the lid, she made a loud slurping noise and sighed with satisfaction. "Ahhh…" she voiced with a smile, "Just what I needed."

"Well, good!" the cashier said with a cheesy little thumbs up. The woman behind the counter had so much unnecessary energy little grey hair seriously wondered how much caffeine she must be drinking.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked while slowly moving a hand into her pocket?

The cashier smiled and waved a hand dismissingly. "Oh, that one's on the house. Don't sweat it. It really looked like you needed it."

"Oh…um…okay." she said and took another sip. "Thanks a lot." It wasn't that she was short on cash or on a tight budget. In fact, that was quite the opposite, but her hands hurt so much from the cold that trying to reach for something in her pocket was almost impossible to do without breaking one of her little fingers off.

"So, um, I have to ask…" the cashier's voice changed to a more quieter tone, "What are you doing out by yourself in the middle of a rain storm?"

The girl stopped sipping to look up. "Well, I guess I gave the wrong address to the taxi driver and now I'm a bit lost, I suppose." she lied. In reality, she knew where she was going, but decided to get dropped off a couple blocks away to walk around and check out the neighborhood, but in hindsight, it seemed like that could have waited.

"Aw, you poor thing." the woman sighed. "Do you need directions? Is it around here?"

"Yes it is." she said before taking another sip. "At least, I think it is."

"Well, where are you trying to get to, if I may ask?"

"The old motorcycle shop." she said while wiping her mouth. "My…um…cousin owns the place."

"Oh! You mean Nakamora-san!" the cashier beamed. "I know that place. It's just at the other end of the street a few buildings down from here."

"You know him?" she asked quizzically. _"My mentor knows the neighbors?"_

"Oh, yeah sure I do." the cashier went on to explain. "He comes by every other morning to by breakfast, I think. He doesn't really like sweet things, though, so he always just buys the sandwiches."

"Oh…I see, thanks for your help."

"Anytime! Hurry home now. The rain doesn't look like it's going to stop."

The grey haired girl pulled up her hood, gripped her warm cup with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. "I will, thanks." she said, and ran out into the rain again.

It wasn't hard to find the bike shop she was looking for. The large chain garage door and the faint smell of gasoline in the puddles were complete giveaways. In the anticipation of getting out of the cold, she ran up to the front door, but stopped right before she knocked.

A feeling of nervousness set in that she hadn't felt since earlier that day. The anxiety of not knowing what her mentor would be like made her a bit scared. For what she heard, he was very adept and well versed in the silent kill and hand to hand. He was trained by a legend who was killed a few months ago in order to save his apprentice. Other than that, that was all she really knew about him. Out of all the assassins in the city, he reported back to the guild far less than any others. The only times he contacted anyone was for assignment or confirmation. Around the other assassins, he was given the nickname 'the bike shop ghost'.

The cold rain and slight wind was eating away at her. She weighted the anxiety over the cold, and the cold won. Desperate to be in a warm room again, she knocked three times, then four times, then twice, then waited patiently for an answer.

-o0o-

"Okay…..okay, yeah…..no actually I was going to order a few next week. This does help out." Sam said, still talking on the phone while sipping a glass of milk. "Of, course…..yeah you too, ok…bye."

He set the phone down on its dock and gulped the last of the milk down before wiping the remaining sweat off and drying his hair with a towel. His tousled bangs flowed over his right eye in a frenzy before running his fingers though.

The little husky yawned silently while sitting on the couch. The TV was still on, and some strange animated cartoon had now started its run into the primetime hours. Two minutes into overhearing the dialogue, and Sam felt mentally nauseous. _"The things people will watch…:_ he thought as he re-racked the weights and went hunting for a shirt.

Normally, the dog would lazily sit on the couch until falling asleep, but instead, the little husky sat up straight with perked ears and trained his gaze towards the door.

"What is it?" Sam asked, "You hear something?"

The dog looked back at him, then at the door with his ear still perked and his eyes unmoving.

"I know this is far fetched for you," Sam mused, "but it's called rain. I figured you'd be used to it b-"

A gentle knock at the door broke Sam's speech, and he too stood tensed. The knocks came in three, then four, then two raps. Sam knew this knocking sequence and immediately relaxed. "It's ok, boy. It's just the recruit…I think."

With one hand behind him and the blade extended, he opened the door slowly and felt the cold air and smell of wet pavement hit his nose. As the door slid completely open, he relaxed, but a very quizzical look ran across his face.

In front of him was a very short, skinny and rather all around small looking girl wearing a grey hooded jacket with red embroidery on the wrists and on the pointed tip oh her hood. Rain dripped from the point and her grey bangs clung to her forehead. She looked up, and her face gleamed from the moisture as the light from inside illuminated her features. Her eyes were gentle and narrow, her nose the size of a small button, and her cheeks as red as ripe peaches from the cold.

"Uh…" was all Sam could say, but when he saw her shiver, he immediately stepped aside. "Come in before you get frostbite… or something." he stuttered.

She nodded, and slowly moved forward inside, still shivering with her arms huddled close. "Thanks…"

Her voice surprised him too. It was soft and gentle, giving him a completely different impression than he had expected. "Are….are you the recruit?" he asked as he slid the door closed.

She pulled her hood down and shook her hair to release any clinging rain. When she stopped, she blew into her hands and nodded slowly.

For the first time since he was very young, Sam felt exposed; shamed; uncovered. His upper body was completely exposed except for the two wrist guards on his arms. "Um…just sit down on the couch over there…" he stuttered and walked backwards, "I'm going to go find a shirt, ok?"

She just nodded and started taking off her wet jacket before sitting down. With her legs tucked into her chest, she sighed from the sheer relief of being inside after what seemed like an eternity in the rain.

* * *

Not the kind of recruit you'd expect, is it? It wasn't what I expected either, but writing can also surprise the writer.

Any comments and feelings on the story so far are appreciated, but it's more important for you the reader to enjoy the story. If you feel like adding any feed back, please do.

Expect the next update very soon.


	3. The First Night

So here's the third chapter, which is more of a filler, but it goes deeper into the characters. It's odd trying to imagine how an apprentice and mentor would learn to coexist, especially with personalities like these, but i feel good about this.

As always, I am not in any way affiliated with the Assassin's Creed franchise.

* * *

Chapter 3

Having been woken up from the start of a long night sleep, the little pup motionlessly stared at the newcomer sitting next to him. Visitors were not just rare, they were practically nonexistent, but since this was the second person besides Sam to some inside today, the husky just sat on the couch while staring in curiosity. Whoever this new person was, they didn't look very threatening.

"Relax boy." Sam said while slowly making his way down the stairs, still wrestling a shirt over his head. When he came into the living room, he stood in the doorway and asked, "You…um, what anything? I can make something warm to drink."

The girl looked up and nodded. "That'd be great, thanks."

While boiling water, he kept thinking _"Why is it so awkward having someone else around here….I feel claustrophobic or something."_

"Sooooo…." he trailed off while pour the water into a mug, "What's your name?"

An almost barely audible voice from the living room said, "Kana…Kana Yukito."

After pouring a packet of instant coffee into the water, he walked back into the living room. "Here's some coffee." he held out a mug and leaned against the doorway. "Sorry, I didn't have anything else that was warm. I'm Sam, by the way."

"Sam?" she asked, and gratefully took the mug. "In my briefing, they said your name was Sato Nakamora."

"I just go by Sam around here." he said. "My old mentor called me Sam, so it kind of stuck."

She brought her feet down and held the cup with both hands. "I heard about what happened to him…." she glanced over to her side and locked eyes with the little husky. "Um, you have a dog?"

"No, not exactly. I found him sleeping in my garage a few months ago, and so far he hasn't left."

"Oh, so he's a stray….like me." she said with a small giggle. "What's his name?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't come with a tag, and I didn't think he'd stay long enough for me to give him one."

"He seems to be pretty at home here." she said, then burst into a fit of uncontrollable shivers. "Sorry, but can I dry off somewhere?"

Sam stood up and pointed towards the stairs. "Yeah. There's a shower upstairs, and there should be plenty of towels."

"Um, do you have a dryer?" she asked while standing. The top of her head only came up level to his elbow. "I don't have any spare clothes, and I need these dried."

"Yeah, there's one in the garage. Just leave them by the door and I'll take care of them for you."

She thanked him and trudged up the stairs. When she was out of sight, the little husky walked up to him and cocked his head.

"Yeah, not what I excepted either." Sam mumbled.

-o0o-

The hot running water filled the room with a pleasant steam, and the humidified air gave Kana the inner warmth she had felt she lost. After bundling her clothes outside, including a few other things, she let the hot water cascade over her pale skin until some color returned to her complexion. Once the tub was full, she submerged up to her chin in the hot water.

Her muscles had tensed from hugging herself the whole time in the cold, and for the first time in what felt like a eternity, she felt like her body could move normally. Her still joints now rotating without the creaking feeling.

"_He's not at all what I expected…"_she mused. _"I was half expecting some mid-thirties man with a beard based on the briefing." _Her cold fingers and toes almost burned unbearably when she tried to move them under the water. _"I wonder if he's as cold as everyone says he is."_

Outside, she could hear footsteps and rustling noises. Most likely Sam had picked up her clothes to wash them. There was a slight rapping at the door, and she stirred a bit, making the water around her slosh. "I'm going to leave your stuff in the bedroom up here." she heard him say. "Go ahead and use the room."

"Um…ok." she nodded, although he couldn't see her, "Thanks."

"We'll talk more in the morning." Sam said. "Try and get some sleep."

"Ok." She slowly stood and unhooked the plug from the drain. "Um…night!"

-o0o-

Sam was already walking down the stairs, but turned around to say, "Night!" before heading into the garage. In one hand were all her clothes, including her intimates. This fact made Sam extremely uncomfortable, and he tried to reason with himself that it was nothing. In his entire life, he never had to live with a woman. Most of the time, he traveled and roomed together with his late mentor. He was much more able to shrug off the feeling once her clothes had been thrown into the washer.

In the other hand was something he saw and felt on his own skin everyday, but the perplexity of this one almost made him laugh. The small hidden blade in his hand was designed for a narrow wrist. The blade itself was almost a third shorter than the two he wore, making the device even proportioned for its owner. _"It's almost like a novelty."_ he mused. _"I didn't know someone could make one this small."_

During the drying cycle, he spent his whole time leaning on the washer and turning the device over in his hand. Due to the size, not all the bells and whistles were there. There was no small round insulated steel bolt action mechanism next to the blade that could be loaded with a single bullet, and of course, there was no laser pointer. The only thing that gave it some character was the blade itself and a metal clasp with the assassin symbol shaped buckle. _"This thing really is as basic as it gets, huh."_

The buzzer on the dryer sounded, so he pulled the clothes out, walked upstairs, folded the clothes, left them at the foot of the bed, then set the small hidden blade on top. Normally, Sam slept in the clothes he wore the day before. It wasn't the most classy habit, but it feed up the set of pajamas he kept in the closet. After setting those down on the bed next to the other clothes, he grabbed a pillow and started walking back downstairs, but stopped at the bathroom.

"I set everything on the bed." he said. "If you need anything in the middle of the night, I'll be downstairs, so feel free to wake me up."

A soft "ok" echoed from the cracks of the door.

Before he set the pillow down on the edge of the couch downstairs, the phone rang again, but this time, instead of the usual annoying electric ringing, a high pitched whistle filled the room. He picked up the phone and waited until someone on the other end started to talk.

"Okay, this line is clean." a man's voice said. "Hey Sam, it's been a long time since you reported in, so we figured we'd give you a call."

"Well, here I am." Sam sighed. "This couldn't have waited til morning, could it."

"We just wanted to know if your recruit showed up safe and sound."

"Yeah, she did, but…..." Sam looked towards the stairs to make sure he was alone. "She's not exactly what I expected."

"What were you expecting?"

"Well, someone….um, bigger I guess. Let's just say she doesn't fit the assassin profile."

"Neither did you when we recruited you, kid. What makes her so different?"

"Um, isn't she a bit young?" Sam asked, "I know we can use all the help we can get, but she's just a….kid."

"Yeah, and so are you, Sam." the man grunted. "She's only a few years younger than you, and, if you ever bothered to read the report, which I'm guessing you didn't, you'd know she's much more capable than you give her credit for."

"Alright, I'll give you that, but the first impression didn't convey any of that information."

"Why don't you talk to her, Sam." the man sounded annoyed. "Oh, and start reporting back more often. We have an assignment for you that we wanted to get you started on for a couple of weeks now."

Sam didn't say anything, but his body slumped and he palmed his face. _"I guess my vacation really is over."_

"Give her a chance to help you, and give her a chance to learn. She can learn a lot from you. That's why we sent you a recruit."

"Alright, I'll do that, but no special treatment." he said through gnashed teeth. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Expect a package in the mail. It'll have all the information you need to get started."

"Great…"

The phone line went dead before any exchange of pleasantries. Might as well, since phone conversations were only safe for a short amount of time, so any extra words would provide a greater risk of being overheard.

With the sleeping dog in the way, Sam snapped his fingers to wake him up and said, "Move over."

The dog sat up and gave a look as if to say, "Are you kidding me?"

Sam nodded, then plopped himself on the couch and closed his eyes. "Sorry, boy." he said. "Well figure something out in the morning.

-o0o-

The first impression of the house Kana got was just how small it was. Downstairs, she noticed there was only two rooms: the kitchen and the living room with an adjacent closet sized room with a toilet. Upstairs, there was only two doors: the one that led to the shower room she just used, and the bedroom she now found herself standing in.

The rain still tapped gently against the window, adding to the soft ambiance of the room, but she felt a bit guilty over using the bed.

It was obvious it was Sam's room. A few men's clothes were in the closet, and under the bed were a pair of worn leather riding boots and a small toolkit. The fact that he had given up his entire extra long queen sized bed to her in less than a half hour of meeting each other made her feel a bit guilty over taking him up on the offer almost immediately. _"How was I supposed to know there was only one bedroom to this place?"_ she thought. _"Maybe I should at least thank him…"_

He even folded all her things into a neat pile on the foot of the bed, and even took extra care to place her blade on top. Hell, there was even a set of pajamas to use if she wanted them. Her first impression of him was definitely not what she expected, but this kind of noble generosity was what surprised her the most.

The bed look tantalizing. Her fatigue and slight chill from only wearing a towel only expounded her desire to cuddle up in those pajamas and huddle under the covers, which is exactly what she did. Too tired to even bother turning off the light, she fell asleep in near seconds. Before she let unconsciousness overtake her, she mumbled the words "Thank you." even though there was no audience to hear it.

-o0o-

With the radio on in the background and the garage door completely open, Sam Sat in a squatting position while servicing a small bike in front of him. The bad weather had cleared over night, and the sun's ray now flooded the otherwise dim garage with refreshing natural light. With greasy and sweaty hands, he wiped his brow, leaving a small brown streak on his forehead.

Still early in the morning, a few kids in school uniforms walked past the open garage while on their way. A couple of the neighbors waved to him, and he greeted them all with a smile and a wave with a dirty hand.

"_So…I'm gonna need a whole new clutch gear for the transmission…..and what else?" _he asked himself while holding a monkey wrench. _"This thing is more messed up than I thought." _With his free hand, he reached for and gulped down the rest of his extra strong black coffee sitting on a work bench. Sleeping on the couch the night before was not the most pleasant experience in the world.

-o0o-

"_What the?…..Where the hell am I?"_

Kana sat upright the second her eyes peeled open and looked around. The bed she was in seemed far too big for her, and her clothes were neatly folded on the foot of the bed. _"Oh…yeah."_

She got dressed like she did routinely without thinking about it, but gave special attention to attaching her small hidden blade on his wrist. It wouldn't help to accidentally cut oneself while trying to wake up.

No one else was downstairs, except for the small dog, but she could hear some strange music from the garage. She opened the door and walked into Sam's peripheral to announce her presence.

-o0o-

"Oh, you're up, huh?" Sam asked without turning to face her.

She walked over to him and squatted down next to him. "Yep." she said. "What are you doing?"

"Just…mmh," he grunted while turning the wrench before continuing, "…Trying to figure out what else is wrong with this thing. You feeling any better this morning?"

"Mhm. Yeah, I am." she said, then hesitated, "Um, you didn't have to give up your bed….I mean, I could have slept on the couch."

"Nah….It's cool." he said. "Don't worry about it. You hungry?"

"Yeah, I am, actually."

"Well, help yourself to anything in the fridge. You run this place just as much as I do now, so feel free to make yourself at home." he said while turning over a gasket in his hand.

She nodded, then walked back inside. The only thing she found were sandwiches, milk, and quite a few small bottles with medical labels on them. Below that, a box full of sterilized needles. _"Makes sense." _she figured while gnawing on something she picked out.

Sam out the wrench down and wiped his hands with a towel that was slung over his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kana walking back out with something in her hand. "Earlier this morning, I went out and got some things from the pharmacy we needed, so don't be surprised to see medical supplies in the shower room." he said, "Oh, and could pull on this for a sec?"

She nodded and squatted down next to him again. "Here?" she pointed?

"Yep, right there." They both braced themselves on the floor. "One, two….three!" He yanked hard on the wrench while she pulled on a clamp holding the gasket in place. "Thanks. That's good enough."

She let go, and sat back on her feet.

"So…" Sam asked while concentrating on his hands, "How'd you get roped into all this?"

"You mean, how I ended in the guild?"

He nodded while turning his head to see something.

"Well, I was sort of born into it, I guess." she said, "My father died before I was born on an assignment. My mother was back home teaching linguistics to other recruits. What about you? Were you born into it too?"

"Yeah…something like that." he said while standing up and wiping his hands. "When I was born, no one came to the hospital to claim me when my mother checked herself out. Before an adoption agency came to collect me, some man claiming to be my father came and got me."

"Oh….was he an assassin?"

"Yep." he stretched, then sat down on a workbench facing her. "Sure was."

"Oh…" she stood up and held out her hand. "Well, now that we'll be working together, I wanted to say this: Please take care of me."

He smiled and shook her hand it felt small and gentle in his grip. "Take care of me too, ok?"

Her face had turned a bit surprised. His grip, for one, was very firm even though she could tell he was holding back. Second, this was sort of unexpected. "I'll try…." was all she could say.

A knock on the wall from outside broke their bonding moment, and both their glances strayed towards the noise.

"Morning, sir. Delivery for Mr. Nakamora?" a man in brown khakis and matching shirt asked with a letter sized cardboard box in his hand.

Sam let go and walked over. "Yeah, that's me."

"Sign here please."

Sam signed, then took the small box. The man thanked him and walked away.

"What is it?" Kana asked.

"It's our assignment, I think." Sam said while ripping off the seal. What came out was a little computer USB storage device.

"Is that it?" she asked.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. I guess a paper file would be too risky to mail."

"Do you have a computer?" she asked, "It's probably encrypted. I'm good with stuff like that."

"Oh, are you?" he said. "Well, here, take it."

She held out her hand and turned it over in her hand. Sam was already on his way inside. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to change." he said. "There's a computer on the table. Go ahead and start without me."


	4. The First Lead

This is where it gets more interesting. A mission starts and questions must be asked.

Again, I am not in any way affiliated with Assassin's Creed

* * *

Chapter 4

"So…" Sam asked while walking down the stairs in fresh clothes, "What's it say?"

Kana stared at the computer screen on the kitchen table intently. "I haven't had a chance to see yet." she said. "I just finished running the encryption decoder, and it's being saved into a PDF file."

He bent over and put his head mere inches from her shoulder to get a better look. "You completely lost me there, but can you open it?" he asked

She nodded while turning her head and jumped back in surprise. "Wah!"

"Oh, sorry…haha" Sam put his hands up. "Didn't mean to startle you."

She shook it off and turned her head top the screen again. "Um, yeah I should, just give me a second."

Sam watched her fingers fly and the monitor's screen change images and texts ever few seconds. _"So, they sent me a tech-wiz, huh?" _he thought. The screen's flashing finally stopped, and a video player popped up.

"Ok, this is it." she said, and pressed play.

The image of an adoption agency popped up as the small speakers mixed static with someone's voice. "This is your prefecture's adoption agency." the voice said. "In the passed month, over ten children have been given up for adoption by one or more drug addicted parents." The image changed to a list of names coupled with faces. "All these children have been put into adoption homes, and all of them seemed to have been leading normal childhood lives until the passed month."

"Wait! Pause it really quick." Sam said, pointing.

She paused the video and asked, "What is it?"

"I think I've seen a few of these kids before. They walk to school passed the garage each morning. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them recently." He motioned for her to hit play.

A grainy image of a rather normal looking man wearing a black suit and holding a briefcase came into view. "This man claims to be a social worker, and comes by the adoption homes to pick up the children. Because no parent or guardian will claim the children, no missing persons report has ever been filed. We don't know who he is, why he takes the children, or where he comes from. Normally, we would have sent this information anonymously to the police, but because of this…." the image zoomed in on the man's lapel, revealing a small metal pin of the red and black templar crest. "…we have decided to take this upon ourselves. "

"Damn…." Sam mumbled, "What the fuck do those Templars want with kids?"

The screen changed images to a GPS view. "All these red dots are the adoption homes the children were placed in that the man was sighted at. We don't know how many more children he has abducted, but you job is quite clear. Find out why, and kill all templars involved and any more you encounter. If possible, find the missing children, but this objective is not top priority."

Kana turned to face Sam again. Her face had gone slightly pale, and her stomach felt a bit sick. Sam, however, seemed to be completely unfazed and determined.

"Remember, is this mission because larger than you can handle, report back and keep clear. Dispose of this data and all related materials properly. Remember the creed: Nothing is true; Everything is permitted." The video stopped. A small blip popped up asking whether or not the video should be replayed.

"So, now what?" Kana asked.

Sam scrolled back to the pictures of the children. "Scan those images and send them to an encrypted e-mail address."

She turned back towards the computer again. "You think you might know where to start?" she asked.

"Yeah…I think I do, but I'm going to need your help."

-o0o-

After Sam locked the door, they started walking down the street while passing a few older junior high and high school students in uniform. Elementary school got out about a half hour earlier, so Sam knew the timing wouldn't be too bad.

"So, where are we going?" Kana asked, "It must be pretty close since were walking on foot."

"It is." he said. "Oh, go ahead and pull your hood down. It's a nice day, so enjoy it."

"Isn't that…against protocol?" she asked. "Since were out, wouldn't it be better to keep them up?"

Sam looked up at the beautiful clear sky and let the soft wind tousle his hair in the breeze. "Nah…" he sighed. "The hood is more useful at night. If you wear it in the day, people give you looks." He turned to face her and smiled. "I may not be that old, but I've been around long enough to know it'd be a shame to waste a gorgeous day like this with a hood up. As far as protocol is concerned, screw it."

"Wow…" she said while wiping a few hairs out of her face. "Your right, it does feel nice."

He nodded. "Look." he said directly, "We won't be able to relax and enjoy the day like this when working for long, so it's always good to take advantage of the opportunity. Trust me on this: you're going to want to do anything to keep your sanity when shit hits the fan."

"Shit hit's the fan?" she asked, "I don't think I've heard than one."

"Meh…it's more catchy in English."

"…um, ok…..so, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure." he said. "You don't have to ask, just fire away."

"Aren't you worried?"

"Worried?" he asked, "Worried about what?"

She shoved one hand into her pocket and looked up with a figure resting on her chin. "Well…I'm not sure exactly, but you….you just don't seem to be careful…"

"I see what you mean…..Why am I not playing by all the rules and keeping a distance from everyone and everything?" Is that it?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Well….the rules are important when they need to be important. It's good to have some breathing room every once in a while." he said. "We're here."

"Here?"

He motioned towards the open door of the usual cake shop he visited. While walking inside passed a few shelves, she trailed behind him.

"Oh! Afternoon Mr. Nakamora-san." a cheerful middle aged woman said holding a basket of pastries. She saw Kana standing a a ways behind him looking around and said, "Oh, Hello there miss. I trust your feeling better."

Sam looked back in confusion. "You've been here before?"

Before Kana could answer, the woman said, "Oh, yes she came in from the rain last night asking about you."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Kana. "You did?" he mouthed at her. Kana nodded and scratched her head while shaking a hand at him

"Are you two related?" she asked. "I've never knew you had any family."

"Um…she's…my…my half sister." he said. "She just flew in from Morogadhishu last night."

"Uhh yeah…Sister." Kana said. "Same mom and all…hehehe"

The woman finished placing the pastries in a flower shape and smiled. "Well, I'm glad you found him." she said. "So, what brings you here in the afternoon?" she asked.

"Well…Actually, I came to buy something special, seeing as how it's my sis's first day living with me and all." he said, "It's been quite a few years since I've visited home, and….." Sam just went off making small talk, which surprised Kana. He wasn't bad at it at all. While the cheerful woman smiled and nodded, he motioned towards another aisle across the room. Kana turned her gaze and saw a young girl in a middle school uniform placing little price tags.

When the woman started to ramble on about her eldest daughter who moved out, Sam motioned again at Kana and mouthed, "Go talk to her."

"About what?" Kana mouthed back.

Before she could get an answer, Sam had turned away and continued winging his family background story on the spot again. With a small growl, Kana walked over and approached the girl. _"What the hell does he want me to talk to her for-…ohhhhhh."_

"Hi there." Kana said with a small wave. "Can I ask what these little things are?"

"Oh, these are on-pons." she said, but pointed in the other direction. "They're pretty good, but my favorite ones are the strawberry scones other there."

"Oh, those are my favorite too." Kana lied and smiled.

"Are you really Sato-kun's half sister?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know…He's so much taller than you….and bigger….and his hair is dark…..and he kind of has an accent…-"

"Yeah…I know." Kana said. "Trust me, he's my half brother."

"Oh, ok then." The girl sounded cheery, like her mother, then put a hand up to her mouth and whispered, "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Uhhh…sure, I guess." Kana bent down to hear.

"My big sister has a crush on him." she said, then giggled.

Kana just raised an eyebrow up at Sam, but he purposefully not paying attention. Instead, he just kept making small talk with the shopkeeper.

"Wow…" Kana feigned interest. "That's incredible."

"Isn't it?" the little girl said, still trying to hold in her giggles. "Don't tell her I told you, kay?"

"No problem." Kana pulled out her phone. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Um….I guess so…." the girl said. "Is it about cake?"

"No..it isn't." Kana held up her phone and showed her the picture of one of the missing children from the file. "Have you seen her around lately?"

"Oh, that's Muriya-chan." the girl said. "Is she in trouble?"

"Oh, no she isn't." she said. "It's just….Well, have you seen her?"

"Well…." the girl's face turned a little pale and she looked kind of scared. "I've haven't seen her since that man came."

\

Kana squatted down to talk to her eye level. "Man?" she asked. "Can you do me a favor and think really hard? I need you to tell me what you saw."

"Well…..Were were in class one day when this man in a dark suit showed up. He talked to the teacher, then to Muriya-chan, then they both left." the girl trilled her thumbs nervously. "She's gonna be back in class next week, right?" she asked. "She promised to be my volleyball partner for gym class."

Kana gave her a light pat on the head. "I know she did…." she said. "Was the man wearing a little pin on his jacket?"

"Oh, yeah he was. It looked like a weird shaped red cross or something."

Kana nodded approvingly. "Anything else you can tell me?"

"Well…..when I went to go to the bathroom, I looked out the window and saw Muriya get into the back of a nice looking car. You know, one of the black cars with the special blue plates?….I didn't really see anything else. I had to go back to class."

"Yeah…those cars. I've seen them before. Thank you very much. You really helped me out a lot." Kana said with a genuine smile this time.

"Your welcome." the girl said. "And….um, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"When you see her, tell Muriya-chan that I have her yellow blouse. It's her favorite."

"Okay, I'll do that." Kana said while standing up and picking up one of the pastries the girl set down. "Bye-bye!"

"Oh, Bye-bye!" the girl said with a little wave, then went back to her pastry sorting.

Sam was at the counter ringing up something and still having an inane conversation. Kana came up and set the little on-pon down next to the cake he was buying. "Can I get this?" she asked in a cutesy voice while making a puppy dog face.

Kana's change in tone and appearance really threw him off. "Uhhh….wah?"

"Come on…please?" Kana put her hands together.

"Uh…yeah, sure…." Sam choked out.

"Aw…she's a sweet girl." the shopkeeper said. "You take good care of her now, you hear?"

"Yeah…I will." he said, still dumbfounded.

He bagged their purchases and they walked out. Sam still couldn't fathom her change in personality, but cleared his throat and asked, "What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?"

"You know what, never mind….just don't do that again. It really screwed with my head."

"Aw, come on." she sighed. "Did I really look that bad?"

He shook his head slowly. "It's not that….I just wasn't expecting you to go that far with the act."

She sighed. "Sorry about that."

Sam felt a little guilty, but quickly changed the subject. "So, what did you learn from the daughter?"

Kana instantly became more professional. "She said she was in class with the missing girl until she was abducted. The man who took her was the man in the photo drove a car with blue plates. You know what blue plates are for?"

"A lot of companies have a bunch of branches all over the country an d in the cities." Sam explained. "Instead of parking permits, major companies with issue special colored plates to certain employees."

"Oh….that makes sense…." Kana said. "You think they're Abstergo plates?"

"I don't know." he shrugged. "There are a lot of pharmaceutical research companies in Kyoto….makes sense, but I wouldn't put money on it." he said. "Remember, this is just a lead. We don't really know something unless we see the connection. It's important to make decisions off what we know, not what we have a good feeling about."

Kana sighed. "So…we don't really know anything, do we."

Sam shook his head. "No, but that's okay. We have time." he said. "Never rush anything. It's the quickest way to hurt yourself."

She looked up at him and smiled. "You know….you're a lot smarter than you look." she giggled. "You still look kind of like a kid, but you speak as if you've done this a million times before."

He looked down at his side as they walked. Her smiling face was so carefree and unhindered. "Stop smiling…." he sighed. "I can't take all these smiles."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. I can't…it's throwing me off or something."

She looked up at him until he glanced down again. He saw that her smile hadn't gone anyway. "Too bad." she said. "I think you need to learn how to smile more."

"Whatever….." he sighed as he pulled his hood over his eyes.

"So, you have idea where do go next?" Kana asked.

* * *

I'll update soon. I realized that I probably have a few speeling and punctuation errors, so please try and overlook them. Thanks for the consideration.


	5. The Grunt Work

Finally, it's here. I guess I've been busy up at the lake and trying to catch up on all the sleep I missed. Also, the plot swimming in my head only expands the more I think about it, so the faster I lay this out, the easier it will be for everyone. Anyway, here it is.

I am in no way affiliated with Assassin's Creed or Ubisoft etc. That gets really irritating to say after a while.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Well…" Sam sighed, "To be honest, I was hoping for something more solid."

With a dead frown and annoyed face, Kana looked up and groaned, "Huh? I don't get it."

"Think about it. All we have is a lead based on an elementary school kid's hearsay evidence."

"I didn't take you as a man of the law." Kana said. "Don't we usually avoid that stuff."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we're going to start confronting all of the alleged wrong-doers we come across." Sam said. "Believe it or not, most of our leads usually turn out to be pedos and pervs. That shit never gets us anywhere."

"Oh….Ok, I get it now. I guess this happens a lot in big cities like this."

"Hang on," Sam said. "You're not from around here?"

"Yeah I am, I just meant in general. I'm pretty new to this so….I don't know…..I guess I figured this would be easier."

Sam and Kana walked together down the street towards an approaching ramen stand with a few seats in front of it. With a small gesture, Sam motioned to the stand, and they took their seats.

"I'll let you on a little secret." Sam said, then turned to the man behind the counter holding a ladle. "Two small specials and….a few apples if you got em."

"You know…I don't usually get fruit orders, but it happens I have some nectarines."

"That'll work. Thanks." Sam said, then turned back to Kana, "Okay. Listen closely, cause this might save your life. Most recruits, usually guys, spend most of their time learning combat and offensive techniques. Granted, that stuff helps, but that's only about five percent of the battle."

"Okay?" Kana said when Sam stopped talking.

"That's why they do this type of thing." he said while pointed to himself, then to her, then back again repeatedly. "Gotta learn from someone the ropes, you know?"

"I get what your saying," Kana said, "but you're still extremely vague."

Sam reached out for the food and sat both bowls in front of them. After taking the first bite, he said, "What I'm trying to say is, if your going ton do this thing, we need to be really anal attentive. We need to know anything and everything back everyone and everything he encounters everyday and every hour. We can't just run up to this guy and do our thing without proper planning. Most battles are won on computers now than they are on foot."

Kana nodded and sighed. "So, I guess we already at a dead end then."

"Mhm…" Sam nodded with his mouth full. "Those blue license plates that girl mentioned won't get us very far."

"So, then what?"

"Eat up." he said and tapped her bowl with his chopsticks. "I'm leaving when I'm finished, so you better dig in."

They ate in silence, except for the obnoxious slurping noises and clinking of chopsticks against the bowls. When they finished, Sam took the fruit, got up, paid the man, and together they walked back towards the bike shop."

"Here." he tossed her a piece of fruit. "You'll need this."

When Kana got up, she realized that her had already devoured the fruit in less than a few bites and threw the core into the trash. _"Wow…doesn't waste time, does he?" _she thought.

"I think I need a suit." Sam said.

Kana looked up after hearing his random comment. "What? A suit? What for?"

He pointed to an advertisement on a passing bus. "Look." On the side of the bus was an advertisement for a rather large dental chain office with branches all over Japan. It's blue pattern matched the license plate's corner tag."

Kana turned and gasped. "Whoa…Okay, that helps a little, but why the suit?"

"If I'm going to just walk into their corporate office, I'm going to need a suit."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"What if the templar man kidnapping those kids took them to the dentist's office after he abducted them?" Sam said while walking beside her down the near empty street. Although there were very few pedestrians, a ton of cars crammed the little street. "It'd be the perfect place to subdue the children for possible transport. The N2O laughing gas they use in dental offices work wonders on loud children."

"So, you think he's taking them there, then knocking them out with laughing gas?" Kana asked. "Why? To take them somewhere?"

"I don't know." he said. "This is just kind of a hunch. I'm not sure where this could go, but it's worth a check."

"I'm still kind of confused." she said. "Now what?"

The bike shop came into view, and they walked up to the front. "This is where we split up." Sam said, and stopped to open the garage door while she kept moving towards the front.

Kana turned around in an instant and asked, "What? How come?"

"I can't bring you on this." he said. "I need to be alone and look professional."

"So…." she looked down at her feet. "What do you want me to do?"

He lifted the garage door up and sighed. "Get plenty of exercise while I'm out. I have plenty of stuff to use in the living room and there's a climbing course on the back wall of this place. It isn't very high, but it beats being inside when there's nothing to do."

"How long will you be gone?" she asked in a rather soft voice that Sam had trouble hearing.

He walked into the garage and she slowly followed him. "For a few hours." he said while pulling a tarp off a mid nineties flat black Kawasaki. "When I get back, I'll fill you in on everything."

She nodded and sighed. "Um, ok."

He looked up at her and smirked. "What's with that look?" he asked. "What? Are you afraid of being alone or something for too long?"

"No!" she said defensively. "That's completely ridiculous! I'm an assassin after all!" she sighed while lowering her voice. "It's just…I mean, It's not like I'm worried about you or anything….."

Sam walked over to her and put his hands in his pockets after lowering his hood, revealing an amused but worried face.

"…..It's just," she continued, "This is sort of my first mission….and cause of all the things you said, I don't know what to expect-" A small feeling of pressure on her head stopped her train of thought. "Whah?"

Sam looked down at her a smile while putting a hand on her head. "Relax." he said. "I'm still here, so there's no problem, okay?"

She looked up at him with rounded and worried eyes as he tousled her hair.

"Say hi to the little guy inside for me while I'm gone." he said while walking back to his bike. He mounted it, then walked it towards the open garage door. With one hand on the clutch and the other pulling his hood up over his head, he started the bike up with a loud high pitched rev. While pulling out and riding down the street, he waved back at her.

She put a hand up in the air, but couldn't bring herself to shake even a finger back at him. A part of her couldn't get over the fact that she was in the real field now, with real situations happening. At first, it just gave her a feeling of excitement, but now, she was starting to feel a bit vulnerable and scared. Maybe it was because Sam's thinking and actions were so fast paced, yet so laid back despite the impending dangers. Maybe it was because of her 'rookie' mentality and lack of experience. Or, maybe it was because her mentor was not at all what she expected.

She realized in a short time that Sam wasn't this quiet veteran who never changed expressions. Yes, he did have some of that serious toughness in him, but he was also almost a bit of a sweetheart, whether he meant to be or not. Sure, he could be mean, but he had gone out of his was to be comforting and reassuring, even over something almost outlandishly silly as this.

While leaning against the open doorway of the garage, she watched him ride away and turn right at an intersection. A feeling like worry, like concern, washed over her, but the exact word for it she couldn't name. There was something else to what she was feeling. It felt like admiration and respect, but even that didn't feel like it full expressed the entirety of her sensation.

For a few minutes, she just stood there and watched the occasional cars go by while rubbing her arm; just to think…or figure something out.

-o0o-

One of the things massive cities are well known for are the extremely crowded streets and intersections of downtown. Tall piercing skyscrapers block out the horizon with their jagged forms while the noises of people, cars, trains, planes, and everything else in-between nearly blow out the ear drums of any poor soul just trying to reach their destination.

On one such busy intersection, Sam stood wearing a finely tailored black suit he paid for in with a debit card under a fake name. his hand held an empty briefcase just to play the part. When the crosswalk's light turned green, he became enveloped in the slow moving stampede of people all holding a cup of coffee or cell phone in their hands. Sam may have looked the part, but everything about his surroundings irritated him. A crowd like this can be the perfect cover to save your life, but not the most serene environment.

"_God…"_

Someone bumped into him.

"…_.Fucking…"_

Another person bumped into him and almost spilled coffee on the back of his jacket.

"…_Damn-"_

He realized he had crossed the street. In front of him was the massive office building that housed the corporate offices of the dentistry. The sign outside the door was decorated with blue patterns identical to the add and the license plate tag, minus the fine finish to all the edges. _"Yeah, definitely corporate."_ he thought. What annoyed Sam the most was the fact that the front door had an electronic security lock complete with ten numbers and the annoying pound and star buttons.

"_Shit…."_ he thought. _"I guess there's no other way to do this."_

He walked over to a bench by the side of the street with two men smoking. Sam walked up to them and leaned against the back of the bench. "Hey, can I bum one?" he asked.

"Sure." the older man said while handing Sam a cigarette. "Need a light?"

Sam nodded while slipping the butt into his mouth and leaned forward while the man flicked a lighter. With a few puffs, Sam's cigarette now had it's own trail of smoke slowing rising from the tip.

"_Ugh…good god this taste awful." _he thought while blowing out smoke without inhaling. _"How long am I going to have to stand here?…..and, do people seriously do this recreationally?…..Well, at least it stopped raining a while ago."_

After a couple of minutes of painfully fake smoking the cigarette down half way, Sam noticed a young woman in a pantsuit walking up to the door. She typed in four numbers that gave off a distinct sound, then walked inside.

Sam threw the butt on the ground and licked his teeth repeatedly. When he got to the door, he typed in the four numbers based on the noise, then walked inside.

The lobby was expansive. Silver and grey trim covered the place the way a corporate office should look. A few secretaries behind a long front desk answered calls, talked to people walking in, all the fiddling with their hair, pen, or anything small enough to play with their fingers. Everyone walking by walked like zombies with a purpose to get somewhere and not look or speak to anyone. The only thing that really stood out to Sam was the metal detectors next to the desk.

"Ah…" he said aloud, then looked down at his wrist. _"My hidden blades aren't helping right now." _he thought.

At the security checkpoint, a janitor pushing a cart passed through. The guard switched off the metal detectors to let him pass, which gave Sam an idea.

The janitor kept pushing his down the hall to a freight elevator along a hallway. From Sam's distance, he couldn't what floor the janitor pushed, but the elevator's arrow pointed down. _"The basement…"_ he thought.

After turning around, he headed outside and ducked into the adjacent alley littered with dumpsters and cardboard. A door with a few stairs leading down with another security code lock that had a sign that said "Employees Only". Sam chuckled slightly in amusement, then tried to open the door. It was locked of course, but after a hard kick to the side of the door's handle, he found himself staring into the face of a very surprised janitor with one hand still on the cart as the door closed back onto itself.

"You….you, you can't be down here!" the janitor started to yell. "I'll call security!"

Sam walked forward and said, "You can do that, yeah….." he inched closer to the scared man, "Or…I could-" Sam fired a fist into the man's temple, which dazed him. As the janitor started to stagger, Sam executed a few very well placed open hand strikes to the man's back, effectively paralyzing him temporarily.

The janitor tried to talk, but couldn't get any words out. Sam cocked his fist back and said, "Sorry, I honestly don't want to do this." With that, he sent one last hard punch to his head, knocking the janitor completely unconscious.

Sam hoisted him up and started to undress him. He tucked in his suit and slipped the grey coveralls on while adjusting his blades. _"In the movies, it's always the other way around." _he thought.

Once in the lobby, Sam pushed the cart towards the metal detectors. The lazy security guard in a dazed stupor gave him one glance, then flipped a switched somewhere. _"That was easy….but still annoying."_ Sam thought while making his way to the elevator.

Next to the elevator door was a plaque with company listings. The dentistry offices were one the fifth floor, so once inside, he tapped the button with the five. With no one else in the elevator with him, he rubbed his neck, and extended one of the hidden blades. _"Why do we even use these still?"_ he thought before the door opened.

The hallway, no surprise, was empty, but what did surprise him was the lack of evidence that someone had been there. There was a secretary's desk, but no secretary. Not even any pictures or coffee mugs. The other rooms were completely empty as well. No computers, no pictures, no green miniature golf carpets, no water coolers, nothing. It was completely barren and empty.

The last room he checked did have a desk with a sole computer on it. _"Finally…something."_ he said. _"This was getting really bizarre." _The computer flickered to life when he wiggled the mouse, and a password box popped up.

"Hmm…" he thought, "What if I tried…" he typed in the word "apple", which seemed to do the trick. "Well, that was eas-"

He cut himself off when he saw the screen. The computer's operating system was nothing he'd ever seen. Usually some sort of variation of windows popped up, but this was nothing but a blinking green curser on a black screen.

"_Might as well try and call Kana." _he thought while pulling out his phone.

-o0o-

Kana had finished climbing up and down on the back wall of the shop while wiping her forehead with a towel. After pouring herself a glass of milk for her and the small pup, she was about to sit down at the small table when the phone rang on the wall.

"_Maybe I should leave it alone and let it go to voicemail." _she thought. _"Probably someone calling about motorcycles or something."_

The phone kept ringing unusually long until the voicemail did pick up.

"Kana?" Sam's voice cracked over the connection. "You there?"

She ran over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello? Sam? Yeah I'm here." she said enthusiastically. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Whoa, hang on." she heard him say. "Relax. I just need to coordinate something with you. Are you by my computer?"

"Yeah." she said while sitting down in one of the two chairs to flip it open. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm…in front of a computer right now that's completely black except for a green curser." Sam said. "I don't even know what I'm looking at."

"Ehhhh, seriously?" she asked. "You're at an input command screen. All you do is type in a program's name and hit enter. This is how computers worked in the eighties."

"Okay….well this is weird." he said. "Why the hell is it like this?"

"No need for security software, probably." Kana said. "It's virtually impossible to guess the right command for whatever reason, so there's no need for security software."

"Then there's no security software to trace then, huh." Sam said. "That makes sense…..So, do you know how to work this thing?"

"Well, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"I want a list of dental branches in our prefecture that work on children. I tried using a computer in a manga café earlier, but all the advanced searches kept coming up with some….weird stuff. Nothing that helped. I couldn't even find a phone number or something. These guys really don't want to be found."

"Okay….well, type in something like 'directory' or something, the leave a space and type 'input command open bracket'."

"Wow…" Sam said he typed. "This really is beyond me." He leaned in closer for better look. "Okay, got it. I see a list of addresses."

"Okay, good." Kana said. "I'm bringing up a GPS mapping program. Tell me the first address."

Sam read to her the first couple of addresses, and she searched them up on the laptop back at the shop. Each time, the address was either out of the prefecture, not children friendly, or both. This went on for a few minutes until, the last address on the list that happened to be the only on highlighted in red. _"Probably should've just started with this one."_ he thought.

"Oh…yeah this is the one." Kana said. "Yeah, I'm getting a satellite image of the place right now. This picture is kind of pixilated, but I think I see a black car with that blue license plate. There's also a delivery vehicle. Other than that, there are no cars in the parking lot, for some reason. The photo tag says this picture was taken in the afternoon, so there should be more traffic, but I don't see any."

"Hey….Kana….." Sam said in a low and drawn out voice. "Is that a Kimura delivery vehicle?" he asked.

"Um…yeah I think so." she said. "How'd you guess that?"

He leaned back and stood up from the computer. With a sigh, he said, "Kimura Delivery is an affiliate of Abstergo. They used to deliver encrypted messages in fruit shaped stick drives before we stumbled on them."

Kana looked at the phone as if he could see her somehow, then back at the computer. "So…..what's this mean."

"This means, Kana…." he started to chuckle, "That we actually have a real solid lead."

* * *

Well, I hope this one is just as entertaining as before. Remember to leave your thoughts, and always stay true to the creed.


	6. It Hits the Fan

Now things are starting to really happen. Things are coming together, and I'm starting to feel it. Please enjoy. I know i did writing this.

I'm am in no way affiliated with Assassin's Creed, etc.

* * *

Chapter 6

"Now what?" Sam heard her ask over the phone.

He turned the computer's monitor off and headed towards the door. "I need to get the hell out of here before someone notices that there's an actual warm body up here."

"What? How's that?"

He opened the door slightly and looked around. "It was weird." he said. "This office is almost-" A two men in blue security uniforms walked down the hallway that Sam was about to turn into. He stopped and hugged the wall. In a low whisper, he said, "Gotta go."

While crouched low, Sam approached the two men from behind with both blades extended from his wrists. He instantly picked up speed and kicked the wall to launch himself high enough for a dual assassination strike, but the two security guards were only feigning obliviousness.

One of the guards caught Sam's right wrist, and the other whacked his left wrist with a nightstick. Having been exposed, compromised, and put into a horrible fighting position all in less than five seconds, all Sam could do when he saw foot rushing toward his head was say, "Shit!"

The kick made contact with his ribs, sending him crashing to the ground a few feet away. The guard with the nightstick held his weapon poised for a slashing motion downward, and Sam's eyes widened. With a quick roll to the left and using a swinging motion with his legs, Sam avoided the strike and kicked the legs out from under the first guard. He jumped back up without using his hands and crouched low, this time prepared to attacked.

The second guard pulled out an extendable nightstick with a taser attachment. Sam dodged wild swing after swing while trying to keep a solid distance from the electric barbs that kept sparking. The first guard slowly got up with a silenced pistol in his hand. _"Oh….fuck this!" _

Sam kicked the guard holding the nightstick in the stomach after seeing an opening, then kneed him in the face. The guard holding the gun couldn't get a clear shot without shooting his partner.

Dazed, disoriented, and very much in pain, the guard in front dropped his weapon. Sam spun around in a flash and landed a back kick right against the man's temple. He dropped to the ground like a rag doll with drool pooling around his head.

The second guard was almost in a state of shock, but then realized he still held the gun with its silenced barrel still pointed at Sam. With not a second wasted, Sam jumped rolled and ducked into an adjacent hallway while sparking holes filled the floor trailing his path of flight. The guard stopped firing and said, "Come on out, assassin! It doesn't get any easier hiding behind the only wall in the entire hallway!"

From his crouched position, Sam shouted out, "Alright! I'm coming out! Just don't shoot me in the leg or something!"

The guard smirked. "I got you now.." he mumbled.

Sam stood, then inched his way in front of the guard's line of fire with his hands up in the air near his head. Both of this hands were extended in the direction of the guard. "There's something you should know." Sam said.

The guard looked at him quizzically. "What? Is it about the hidden blade? What do you think we haven't seen that shit before a million times before?"

"Your close, but still a miss." Sam said as he pointed at the guard with his index and middle finger. A small quiet explosion filled and echoed the hallways. Grey smoke wisped from Sam's wrist as residual sparks from gunpowder fell to the ground.

The guard felt a clenching hot pain in his side as he lost his grip on the gun. Both he and the gun fell to the ground. Blood pooled around his side as his eyes slowly closed.

"Ow!" Sam cringed. "Hot! Hot! Fucking Christ!" he swore in English as he frantically pulled the leather straps off his wrist and slung the hidden blade on the floor. The bolt action barrel and chamber attachment next to the blade glowed with a faint red as the small silencer about a few inches long still seeped smoke. Sam rubbed his wrist vigorously and sighed. "I need to look into some sort of insulating material."

With the gun wielding guard now dead and draining on the ground, Sam walked over to the other guard who was just starting to regain consciousness. After bending down next to him, Sam grabbed him by the collar and smacked his face a few times until the guard looked up.

"I'm awake! Ackkk!" the guard coughed. "Please! don't kill me!"

"Whoa, hang on." Sam said, "Don't jump the gun here. Just talk."

"Please….oh please, don't do this…..I'll tell you everything I can." the guard looked pleading and scared, and his body was almost motionless due to the pain.

Sam's hair that came over his eyes was damp with sweat. His face appeared menacing and almost evil. "I don't even know where to start." Sam growled. "Just tell me everything you know."

"Ok…..ok…." the guard whimpered. "All I know is that this place is supposed to be empty. Anyone who accidentally comes up here, well, we just tell them it's being renovated."

"That doesn't really help me." Sam groaned. "Your information directly relates to how long I keep you alive."

"Oh…god….please….No one tells me anything! I just report to the other guard you killed! He knows way more than I do!"

"_Fuck…..I should have kept him alive…..Looks like this guy isn't even aware that he's working for templars." _Sam clenched his fists repeatedly. "Do you know who he reports to?" Sam asked, pointed to the dead body.

"Some guy!" the guard shouted. "Some guy in a black suit who comes up here once a week with some kid!"

Sam let go of the guards collar. "What?" Sam asked. "What kid?"

"Oh God!" the guards screamed. "I don't know! Please! I don't know who they are! They're just some random kids!"

"What do they do up here?" Sam asked as his left hidden bladed inched closer to the man's throat. "Tell me now, or die, god-damnit!" he swore in English.

The guard feebly brought his arm up and pointed to a door to a room Sam thought he had checked. "There's a false wall." he said. "I overheard about it from him." The guard then pointed to his dead partner. "Please! I'm telling you! That really is all I know! I swear! I swear!"

Sam relaxed his position and let the blade slide back into place. "If that really is all you know, then I guess I believe you."

"Oh, oh thank god!" the guard said. "Thank you!"

Sam looked back towards him and asked, "Why do you thank god so much?" he asked. "If you truly believed in god, you wouldn't be doing something shady like this."

"It's….it's just an expression…" the guard whimpered. "Why does it matter?"

"Tell me, have you seen what's beyond that false wall?" Sam asked.

"No! No I swear! I don't know what's back there! I really don't!" the guard started to cry. "Please, just let me go already."

"Why would I let you go?" Sam asked while standing.

The guard started to sit up. "You said you would, didn't you? I told you everything I know, didn't I?"

"True, but I only said not to jump the gun. I never said I'd let you live." Sam said in a low monotone as if he was talking to a confused child.

The guard started to scramble to his feet in a flurry. "Oh….god no! Please no!" he screamed as Sam's left hidden blade extended. "Please! Please!"

In one quick motion, Sam sent the blade into the man's abdomen. The guard choked and blood sputtered from his mouth. Once Sam pulled away, the guard dropped to the ground slowly while producing shallow coughs. Within a few seconds, the man's body was slumped against the wall, dead and motionless.

Sam bent down and used two fingers to close his eyes. "Rest in peace…." Sam said, then stood.

The hidden blade he took off earlier had stopped smoking. Now that all the metal pieces were cool to the touch, he strapped it back on and pulled the bolt back on the gun attachment to eject the empty shell. _"Still only get one shot…..damn…"_ he thought while rubbing his wrist and walking towards the door pointed at earlier.

No lock, no key pad, nothing kept him from simply opening to door. Sure enough, it was just as empty as the rest, except a portion of the carpet was slightly discolored from the rest. He walked over and bent down to trace the carpet with his fingers. Against the wall was a piece of rubber trim that surrounded the room connected to the floor with some uncharacteristic lines on it. He kicked it, and the wall started to slid to the left. It stopped, leaving a four foot gap to walk through.

"What the…..fuck?"

He saw a small room with florescent lights, a desk with a computer monitor, and a chair. It was exactly like the other room with the computer except for one thing. This room had a curving reclining chair in the center; a lot like a dentist's examination chair, except this one had safety restraints, plus a lot of electronic crap Sam didn't recognize. He did, however, recognize what the machine was: an animus.

He had heard about these things before, but most assassins never saw one. He always thought they were some urban myth blown out of proportion, like a polygraph chair with extra wires or something.

"_Fuck me…" _he thought. _"This…..is fucked up."_

A dull but growing pain in his side started to radiate heat through his torso. This sensation he immediately recognized, and he decided it was time to go. No matter what he found out, it would be good to him or to anyone if his body started to shut down before he made it to safety.

With that in mind, he made his way back to the elevator after closing the false wall and snapping a few pictures with his phone. Once inside the elevator car, the mirrors on the wall revealed blood and burn marks on his coveralls, so he slid out of them, still wearing his suit from before. This time, blending in was easier as the elevator doors opened. The lobby was filled with people who looked and dressed almost exactly like him, and once he stepped out of the elevator, four guards with nightsticks drawn rushed inside. One of them pushed the button for level five.

As Sam walked out of the office building and into the busy crowded streets, he breathed out deeply a few times and sighed. _"I hope it doesn't get any weirder than this…..at least for Kana's sake." _he thought.

A few blocks away, in an alley full of trash bags with half eaten food, Sam had stashed his bike and his own clothes behind a massive pile of plastic bags and small trash cans. After changing back into his normal wear, he felt much more himself, although he smelled a bit. After pulling his hood up over his head like usual, he walked his bike out into the middle of the alley and started her up.

-o0o-

The bike shop was extremely quiet. With practically no noise except for the cars and people outside, Kana felt eerily lonely. If she didn't feel startled before, she did know when she heard loud knocking on the garage door.

"Hey! Open up!" she heard a young boy's voice say. "Open up! My mentor's injured!"

Kana's eyes widened, and she pulled her hood over her head before frantically pulling at the chain that raised the door. Once the door was open half way, the figure of a man only a bit taller than her ducked under the door. He then continued to drag the figure of a taller and older looking woman into the garage. "Close it! Close it!" he shouted. Kana complied in earnest.

Once the door was closed, Kana flicked on the light, revealing a short boy and a tall woman both wearing red and grey jackets with the traditional assassin tailoring. They boy pulled his hood down and bent down on the ground next to the woman. "Is it still bleeding?" he asked.

The woman slowly sat up, which took some effort, and lowered her hood. Her face had a very out of character smile considering the situation. "Relax, Kasumi." she said. "I'm fine. It's just a cut on the ribs. Nothing penetrated, so there's no problem."

"But!…but you're bleeding!" he demanded, then turned to Kana. "Do something!"

Kana put her hands up in surprise, then looked around. "Where did Sam say he put all the medical supplies?" she mumbled. "Oh, that's right. He didn't."

Fortunately, her search didn't take long. In the back corner of the shop were two large cardboard boxes with large red crossed on them. Inside were everything from gauze, splints, mechanical respirators, saline I.V.s, and even a bunch of different colored bottles with needles. She grabbed some gauze, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and medical tape, then handed it to woman.

"Sorry about…mmggh….Kasumi." she said to Kana while slowly undressing. "He can get over enthusiastic sometimes."

"But!"

"Relax…" she said to him. "It's no big deal. I should have staggered back, but I underestimated his reach. Relax." She pulled her shirt up and grimaced, then poured some alcohol on the gauze. Her face cringed so hard wrinkles showed themselves on her forehead when she applied the bandage, but once it was taped on, the pain subsided. "That's better." she said, then leaned back against on of the work benches. "I'm Niki, and this is my apprentice Kasumi."

"Oh…well, I'm Kana." she said. "Um….I'm guessing you ran into some trouble, huh."

Kasumi stood up and crossed his arms. "Not really." he said. "Some drunk guy in a ramen shop started harassing the owner. Niki tried to break it up, but the drunk had a knife under his finger."

"This is really embarrassing." Niki said. "This isn't going to look well for me as an assassin, is it…."

"It's not your fault!" Kasumi yelled out. "No one could have seen that coming. Besides, you took him down with some impressive displays there." he turned to Kana, then said. "We didn't notice her bleeding until someone at the shop pointed it out. When we noticed, Niki grabbed her side and dropped to one leg. I was really worried, but we couldn't go to a traditional hospital…you see."

Niki grunted as she adjusted her sitting position. "Well…mmggh, we heard that the brotherhood started it's own medical service station here, so I guess I figured I could be the first visitor." she said with a smile. "I hope I didn't drop in before everything was ready."

Kana looked at her with a puzzled expression. "No, it's fine. That's what this place is for….hehe…um…sorry, I don't really know any thing about medicine. My mentor who runs this place is out right now."

"Oh, is that Sato?" she asked. "I haven't seen him in years."

"Yeah, it is." Kana said, then looked around. "Um…are you going to be okay just sitting there? Would you like to come inside and lay down or something?"

Niki nodded. Kasumi and Kana both helped her inside where she laid down on the couch. "Thanks for your help." she said to Kana. "I hope you weren't in the middle of something important."

"No….no I wasn't" Kana said bluntly. "Trust me, you came at a good time."

Kasumi had already gone to the kitchen, found a glass, filled it with water, and was now slowly bringing it up to Niki's lips.

"Are you going to be ok if I leave?" Kana asked. "I need to make a call."

Niki and Kasumi both nodded. Kana stepped out of the room into the kitchen and picked up the phone. After dialing, she waited.

"Hello?" she heard Sam say. She could hear him turning off his bike and dismounting.

"Sam, something's come up." she said. "Two assassins showed up. One of them was injured."

"Did you try and treat them?" he asked while pushing his bike into the garage.

Kana heard his voice echo from the garage and closed her phone. She peaked around the corner into the garage and said, "Yeah…I tried, but I don't know if it helped at all."

Sam stood the bike up on his kickstand and sat down heavily onto a workbench. He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled loudly with his hands behind him to support his posture.

Kana noticed his exhausted appearance and said, "Whoa…Sam, are you ok?"

He turned to look at her, smiled, then said, "Yeah, I'm good. It's just been an eventful afternoon."

"What happened?" she asked.

Sam stood slowly, then stretched. "I'll tell you later." he said. "Where's our guests?"

Kana led him to the living room where Kasumi had now sat with Niki's head resting on his thigh. Sam extended his hand, and she sat up to shake it. Everyone exchanged introductions again. Niki and Kasumi retold their little story, which made Sam almost chuckle.

"Wow….that's awful.." he said, then bent down to examine her dressing. "If you start to feel sleepy all of the sudden, tell someone immediately. You may have suffered from some slight blood loss.

"Ok." Niki said.

Sam stood back up as Niki laid her head back down on Kasumi's lap. "In about an hour, when the bleeding stops, we'll have to apply stitches."

"Ok. No problem."

"I'll leave you alone then." Sam sighed, then turned around to walk back into the garage. Kana felt uncomfortable for some reason and quickly followed Sam. She followed him into the garage where he leaned against the same workbench as before.

"You…you sure you're ok?" she asked.

He sighed and pulled his jacket off followed by his black long sleeve shirt. A slight layer of moisture covered his body from his abdomen to his neck.

"Wait…Sam…what are you…." Kana started to blush and put her hands up. It wasn't until he grimaced and place a hand on his ribs did she realize there was a massive dark bruise under his hand. "Oh…no…" she said in a whisper.

"Ah…it's nothing." he said. "I got really cocky and paid the price."

She walked over to him and, without thinking, placed a couple fingers gingerly on his side. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

He looked up at her and tried to laugh. All that came out was a hoarse cough. "It only hurts when I breathe." he said with an ironic smile. "Other than that, I'm perfect." Sam took her fingers in his hand and gently pushed them away to her side. "Listen….There's something you need to know." He cleared his throat, then hoarsely said, "We don't get hurt often…usually we strike quick and that's the end of it….but, when we do get hurt, and it will happen,….it's not pretty."

With her fingers still tingling from the contact, Kana had trouble keeping her composure as Sam kept on talking. "You should just know…" he said, "…just be prepared to take some nasty hits."

Sam slid off the workbench and stood. His grimace grew louder as his back straightened. "You understand what I'm trying to say?" he asked as he brushed his long black hair back with his fingers and wiped his brow. "Honestly, I'd love to be there and protect you every time, but if I learned anything from my mentor, no matter how skilled you are or no matter how many years you have under your belt, one little mistake can really….mmgghhhh…fuckin bite back in the ass."

"Sam….."

"Look, I'm just saying…..well…be careful. I've never had an apprentice before, so I'm starting to get worried. I'm still new to all this myself, so I'm worried I might fuck up and get you hurt. I can't even protect myself, so how am I suppose to take care of you?" he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you our or anything, but all this is really starting to sink in for some reason."

Kana brought her hand back up and lightly touched his side. Sam grimaced again, but softened his expression as she examined him. "Is it broken?" she asked. "I can help set the bone."

"No, it's just bruised…." he sighed slowly.

Kana looked up at him and blew out slowly to gain her composure. "Sam?…You should know that…..well, I know that I'm not as capable as you may be…..but you haven't seen me perform, so you don't really know what I'm capable of….It won't do you any good to dwell over this so…..what I'm trying to say is…..If anything happens….at least we can just take care of each other….ok?"

Sam looked down at her with a soft smile. "Wow….you know, somehow, I feel a hundred times better about all this." He placed a hand on her head and tousled her hair. "Thanks. I needed that."

Kana smiled sheepishly while feeling her hair get messed up. She felt better about the situation too, but something else lingered on her. She felt unsatisfied and incomplete about the whole thing for some reason. For whatever the reason, she reached forward and slipped her arms around his waist while making a point to avoid the ribs.

"Whoa….Hang on." Sam moaned. "That kind of hurts, you know?" Kana didn't pull away. Instead, her arms slid across his back until her fingers touched and her head rested against his left arm. "Um….okay…..?" Sam said, confused, but after a few seconds, he returned the hug gently and gave her another pat on the head. "Why this all the sudden?" he asked. "I told you I'm fine, didn't I?"

Kana pulled away and stepped back a few feet. "Yeah, you did." she said as she used the back her sleeve to wipe under her eyelid. "Is it so bad to worried?"

"Hehe…..It's fine." Sam sighed. "It happens a lot in this line of work. I'm sure your not new to getting injured yourself, are you?"

"No, of course not." she said. "I've have my own cuts and bruises, but it's….just scary when it happens to someone else."

Sam pointed towards the door leading back into the house and said, "Yeah….I guess that isn't unique to us is it."

"No I guess not, huh." Kana looked back towards where he was pointing and knew what he was talking about.

Sam twisted his torso back and forth, then walked passed her inside. "I could really use some water….." he sighed heavily.

* * *

Man...so much touchy feely stuff going on. I didn't plan this, but writing is always a surprise to the writer too. For those of you who continue to read, you will be rewarded. The plot in my head becomes more intricate and even I feel the suspense.

On another note, I hope you guys are having a good summer and doing all the things you want to. Summer is almost halfway over, so make the best of it. Any crazy summer experiences, lock those in run with them!


	7. The Fatigue

It still doesn't feel like there are enough hours in the day. No matter how early I get up or late i got to bed, I still can never seem to finish everything. I'm just glad I was able to squeeze this chapter in there somewhere.

Best wishes to my unnamed reviewer. Your comment was greatly appreciated, and I thank you.

Again, I am not affiliated in any way with Assassin's Creed

* * *

Chapter 7

"What the?"

Although the sight wasn't particularly new, Sam still felt uneasy. All his body weight rested on his right shoulder, and his head rested on something soft and comfortable. A blanket was drawn over his body up to his chest. He felt comfortable, and surprisingly less tense than usual. Even when he woke up each day, he usually had some residual pent up tension in his neck or back that kept his mind active. This was the first time waking up in a very long time that he felt like he actually got a restful night sleep.

As much as he enjoy this feeling, in an instant, he felt very alert and focused. Even a sense of comfort outside the norm scared him, and he sat upright in his bed in an instant.

His eyes darted around the room: his room. Nothing on the walls, nothing on the floor except his shirt, jacket, riding boots, and a sock. Where the other one went, he had no idea. More like, he ad no idea how he ended sleeping in his own bed anyway. At least he still had his pants on. The last thing he remembered was downing two bottles of water and sitting down in the kitchen. One thing that did seem normal was the fact that his wrists still dawned his hidden blades.

A knock on his closed door made his jump. "Hello?" he said with a bit more enthusiasm than necessary.

"Um…It's me, Sam." a girl's voice quietly said from behind the door. "Sorry to wake you, but I thought you might be thirsty or something."

The gears in Sam's mind weren't fully moving yet despite the small surge of adrenalin. The only things he could comprehend at the moment were his sense of heat, smell, and hearing. All his fighting instincts were active, so anything he heard didn't fully compute in his head. It took him a few seconds to calm down and realize who was talking. "Kana?"

The door slowly opened, and the grey haired head of a short girl with a worried expression peaked her head in. "Who else would be? Are you feeling ok?"

Sam nodded and tried to sit up, but he completely forgot about the bruise on his ribs. "Why does it always hurt worse later…" he complained.

"Hang on…" Kana said as she walked towards him with a bottle in her hand. "I found this in those boxes downstairs. "she said. "This is numbing gel or something, right?"

"Um.." he looked it over. In her hand was a bottle of pramoxine topical anesthetic, "Uh, yeah it is. How'd you guess?" he asked.

She sat down on the foot of the bed while he opened the tube and spread some in his hands. "It came in a pouch full of needles and sutures. I found it when Niki was giving herself stitches. That woman is pretty tough…." she said. "She and her apprentice left early this morning."

"Wait, morning?" Sam started to apply the gel generously to the grown purple blotch on his side. "How long was I out?"

"About a day." she said. "After you drank all that water, you became sleepy. I had to help you up to the bed and help take yo-" she stopped herself and turned way from him. "Sooo…how'd you sleep?"

He grimaced each time his fingers brushed over his side. "Really well….actually." he said while "I don't usually sleep this hard. Did I miss anything eventful?"

"No, not really." Kana said. "After you went to sleep, me and the other two spent the night sleeping and talking about our passed assignments."

Sam flung the blanket off him and slung his legs over the side to sit up. "Let me ask you something. Did you get plenty of sleep?" he asked while running his hands through his messy jagged hair and standing to stretch. He followed her out of the room after picking up his shirt on the floor.

"Yeah…Pretty sure I did." she said while leading the way down the stairs. "Something up?"

"Why don't you sit down." he said while filling a cup full of water.. "I think I figured something out."

Kana sat and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ok. What'd you figure out?"

"Soooo….where to start.." Sam sighed after taking a sip. "Okay, so after snooping around the office building downtown, I realized something." Kana nodded in recognition. "What I'm pretty sure is happening is this: The man driving around that company car is picking up specific foster car children. One thing I didn't really notice until now is that all those kids aren't full Japanese. It Didn't really cross my mind at the time, but it sort of makes sense now."

"What makes sense?"

"That man probably tells the teacher or guardian he need to take the child for a dental or physical examination. Posing as a state working, he can easily take the child in his custody. After that, he probably does take the child to a legitimately licensed dentist, knocks them out with laughing gas, then loads them up for transportation in Abstergo owned delivery vehicles. At the office building, there's a hidden chamber with an animus in it. My guess is, the templars want to take these kids and look into their memories while under psychosis. Since these kids are have a mixed ancestry, there is a chance they may have some corresponding memories to something they want to see."

"There's still a lot of gaps in that theory." Kana said. "I'm still have questions."

"Yeah I do too." he said. "This is just a theory after all."

"So…what now?" Kana asked. "Do you think we have enough to report back with?"

Sam shook his head. "We won't really know anything solid until we can actually confront our kidnapper."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Hmm…." He gulped the last of his water down, then wiped his mouth. "I know places where he won't be, but I don't have the slightest clue who his next target could be. He seems to just pick up children more at random than with any pattern…."

"That…..doesn't help, does it."

Both of them shook their heads. Sam sat down in the other chair next to her and laid his arms on the table before lying his head down. "Hurts a little to breath standing up…." he moaned. "I guess we'll have to wait on this for a bit."

"Oh…." Kana brought a hand up to his back, but stopped. "Um…..do you….need anything?"

"Nah." he sighed. "I'm good….Wait, where's the pup?"

"He left in the middle of the night when there were a few people here." she said. "I don't think he's used to all the company."

"Eh…guess not." he while sitting up straight. "Well…maybe….maybe we have a shot at this."

"We do?" she asked. "How's that?"

He turned to her with a slight smirk. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before." he said. "No matter where this guy goes, what's the one place he always ends up going?"

Kana put a finger up to her chin and looked up. "Um….the dentist, right? He always ends up taking the kid there."

Sam nodded slowly, his smile growing. "Yeah. That's it!" he said while bring his hands together. "The only place we can intercept this asshole is at the dentist office. We have the location now, thank fucking god." he swore in English. Kana wasn't quite sure what he said, but he did sound a little excited.

"So, what's the plan now?" she asked, "Are we going to sneak in there and just wait until he shows up? That's look suspicious. Besides, what do we do when he does show up?"

"Great questions." he said, then laid his head back down on the table. "I have to idea…..for some reason, that little realization right there took a lot out of me." He moaned and clenched his side with his left arm. "Ughhh man…..I shouldn't have sat up so fast." he said hoarsely while grimacing.

Again, Kana instinctively brought her hand up to his back and laid her palm in between his shoulder blades. After a second of contact, she retracted her arm and turned out. "Uh..sorry…." she said.

"Um…." Sam turned his head on the table to face her. "Actually…that uh….that felt kind of nice." he said softly, and this time, his face showed a little embarrassment.

She slowly place her hand back on his back and instantly felt his body relax. He stopped gripping his side so hard and his face lost it's contorted expression. He sighed openly with relief like after taking a large gulp of water when thirsty. At first, she just left her hand there, but within a few seconds, her hand started to rub gently up and down a few inches. Sam responded by relaxing his shoulders more and more.

After a small yawn, Sam said, "I guess I didn't sleep as well as I thought I did."

"You want to take….a nap or something?" she asked.

"No, I think I should shower and eat." he said. "Best to eat and move around some today. That should help with the pain."

\

"Ok." she nodded and helped him to his feet. After a few back twists, he seemed to be able to walk back upstairs to the shower on his own. "Need anything?" she asked. He just shook his head while pulling his shirt off. The bathroom door closed, and she could hear the sound of running water._ "I hope he doesn't hurt himself."_

In less than five minutes, Sam came downstairs fully dressed in his grey jeans, boots, assassin jacket, and black undershirt complete with his hood up. "Let's go to the park." he said. "There's something I've been meaning to do."

Kana looked surprised. "Whoa, you seem a lot better all the sudden. Did the shower really help that much?"

He pulled out a small pill bottle from his pocket. "Not that much, but these little guys did." he said. "Don't worry. It's not a narcotic or anything. It's over the counter."

"This is a serious change of pace to lay on someone like that." she said while following him out the front door and pulling her hood up. "Why are we going to the park?"

"I need to know exactly where you stand on hand to hand." he said. "It hasn't been an issue until now, and I have no clue how well you've been trained."

A sudden nervousness made Kana's leg a little weak. Fighting wasn't a problem most of the time. A couple of thugs was no problem. Having a to fight a veteran like Sam, even if was a mock fight, made her feel hesitant. "Mh….." she said. "Yeah, I guess it's about time to do this."

They walked down the street opposite the direction of the cake shop for a few minutes. An occasional car drove by, but since it was still during work and school hours, practically no one was on the road or sidewalk. At the park, not a single soul could be seen.

Complete with a small jungle gym, sandbox, swings, and a small picnic pavilion, the park was perfect for what Sam had in mind.

"Okay, why don't you stand in front of me over there," he motioned to a spot across the park about ten feet away. "I'll attack, and you just react naturally."

Kana breathed slowly while walking over to the spot.

"Relax." Sam said. "Don't take this too seriously. I just want to see how you react to a few hits."

"Okay.." she said. "I can do that no problem."

Sam cleared his throat and crouched. Kana dropped into her own wider more narrow stance and braced herself. With his right hand, Sam threw a punch in her direction. Kana easily sidestepped and countered with a knee to his exposed side, but Sam brought his elbow down on her leg before the strike made contact. As her leg dropped, she spun around while bringing her leg up to back kick his chest. With a simple dodge backwards, her kick didn't have the reach for even her toes to touch him. They both reset back into their stances in front of each other.

"That was great!" Sam said. "I seriously misjudged you."

"My turn?" Kana asked. Sam nodded.

She rushed forward with an incoming punch, but switched up her feet just before impact to land a kick. Sam barely had enough time to react to the fake. The crook of his arm came up just in time to catch her leg and throw it up. Kana lost her balance and fell on her back. In an instant, she flung herself up before Sam had anytime to advance forward. Sam made a gesture to keep it coming, so she ran forward and slid across the ground in a sitting position to attack Sam's legs. This wasn't something he was usually prepared for, but was still able to stagger his jump to dodge the strike in time. This, however, left him off balance. Kana used her remaining momentum to kick backwards over her head. The kick landed on Sam's back, and he fell forward a few steps. Kana jumped back up and face him just as Sam recovered his stance and turned around.

"That was new." he said. "I liked that a lot!"

She smiled. "This is kind of fun!"

Sam gave her the signal again, and they began to exchange strikes, counters, dodges, and sweeps. Even though Kana was a bit faster than him, Sam's experience gave him an insightful advantage. He routinely struck her in an exposed area with an light open handed slap just to let her know where to keep her guard. Every few minutes he would stop the fight, approach her, and demonstrate or point out something.

Eventually, Sam put up his hand to stop and gripped his side again. "Ahh….damn.." he moaned.

Kana walked over to him and put her hands down. "You alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I think we should stop. My side isn't going to heal any faster if I aggravate the area."

"Oh…yeah alright. We've been at this for about an hour. It wouldn't be good if anyone stumbled on us anyway."

They walked back to the shop, and Sam opened the garage door. His bike was still parked near the door where he left it the day before. "Oh yeah…" he said. "You wouldn't happen to know how to ride one of these things, would you?"

Kana looked at him, the bike, then back at him. "Yeah. In basic operation training, they taught us how to drive and ride bike. Didn't you go through that?"

"No, I was picked up off the street and personally trained by my mentor. I asked cause you probably are going to need some sort of transportation."

"Um…it's not that I can't ride a motorcycle, it's just that….well, it makes me a little nervous. The bike I had to ride was too big for me and I couldn't balance it very well."

Sam walked over to the very back of the shop where barely any light could reach. Under a tarp the same color as the wall, or so it appeared due to the lack of light, was a rather small bike with some faded red letters on faded grey that spelled out "Kawasaki".

"This was mine years ago." Sam said. "My mentor drove the bigger bike that I use now," he pointed to the black Yamaha, "and I used to ride this little d-tracker 250. This was pretty easy to ride, even as a kid."

"You…want me to use that thing?" she asked. "Well, your right. It is pretty small. It doesn't look as intimidating."

"Well, for now, it's yours as long as you take care of it." he said. "You're going to need it if you're going to get around town."

"Alright." she said while he walked to bike towards her. "It looks almost as small as a regular bicycle."

"Yeah. It's still got some kick though, so be prepared." he said. "I'll leave it over her next to mine when we need to go somewhere."

Sam looked around, then rubbed the back of his head. "Hmmmm…"

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to think if there's anything else your going to need. I've been a bit busy getting this place set up and dealing with that assignment. If you can think of anything you might need that you can't get your hands on, tell me." he said while closing the garage door and walking back inside. "Hungry?"

-o0o-

After eating some dinner, the little pup came back. His eyes were full of annoyance and hunger. Sam fed him, but that still wasn't enough to get rid of that pouting face. A few hours later, when the sun came down, the little dog finally stopped pouting enough to curl up on the couch and sleep. His tongue hung out of his head as he panted occasionally. "I guess he really was upset about all the commotion yesterday." Sam said. "I'm surprised he came back."

"Well, I'm glad he did." Kana leaned down to pat him on the head. "I haven't been here long, but this place isn't the same without him."

"Ehhh….." Sam sighed. "That's true." He stood to stretch his arms in the air. A look out the window told him more storm clouds were closing in. "Ah, damn…and we were having such decent weather there for about a day."

She looked outside and noticed a grey blanket cover the sky that the moon illuminated. "Yeah, this time of year always does this, huh." she said. "Never more than a day or two of good weather, then a week long cloud cover."

"Yep…." he yawned, then cringed a tad. "Ow…still hurts a bit."

"Anything I can do?" she asked. "I don't know much about medicine, but it might help to have a third hand."

"I'm ok, thanks. You've asked me before already. Trust me, I'm fine. It'll be back to normal in the morning." he said. "It's getting a bit late. We got work to do tomorrow, so we might as well turn in now."

"Yeah, alright." After starting to walk a few steps up the stairs, she noticed that he was making his way to lie on the couch again. She stopped. "You….uh…you know, you don't…don't have to keep sleeping on the couch." she stuttered.

"Oh, yeah I should probably pick up a futon and a cot sometime." he said, then yawned.

"No, that's….that's not exactly what I meant." she said, face turned a slight tint or red. "Um…..you can always….just, you know…sleep in the bed."

"What? No, you can have the bed. I'll be fine for now. Besides, if I took the bed, where are you going to sleep?"

"No….that's not what I mean either." Kana sighed and palmed her face. "Do you….I mean…if you want….just sleep uh….next to me…"

Sam's eyes widened. "Uh….what?" he asked. _"Did I hear her right?"_

"It's…only for one night!" she stuttered, struggling to find any reason for saying what she did. "Cause…you know…you ribs. I thought…well, an actually bed might be better, you know?" She looked away to avoid eye contact and sighed._ "Damn…what am I saying? Where did this come from?" _

She just stood there on the stairs, now out of Sam's line of sight. He face red while mentally beating herself up. What surprised really came when Sam answered back.

"Sure…"

Kana's eyes locked onto him. "Wah…really?" was all she could mutter.

"Sure. Why not?" he said. "I'd really appreciated it if I could. That couch looks awful right now. If you really don't mind, I'd be seriously grateful. Can't tell you how nice that sounds right now."

"Oh…..ye…yeah…ok." she muttered as he casually walked passed her up the stairs.

In the bedroom, Sam left all his clothes on and laid down on the right side of the bed on his back with his hands over his waist. He didn't get under the covers any pillows, and his body position required only about a third of the bed's space. All the covers, pillows, and space he left for her.

Not that she wasn't grateful, but Kana did feel disappointed. Even in a situation like this, Sam was very good at keeping distance between them. She conservatively undressed, snuggled under the blankets and watched him fall asleep in his casket position.

A certain uneasiness fell over her. The close proximity to his laying form kept her from falling asleep. All she could do was watch him and feel a slight burn in her cheeks. Eventually, her bravery grew. Inch by inch, she slowly scooted closer to him. His shoulder growing ever nearer. The dim light of the world outside gave his face and messy hair an almost angelic glow. At last, when she was close enough, she gentle place a hand on his shoulder. He didn't flinch. With great care, she replace her hand with her head and used his shoulder as a pillow. Her right arm slowly draped over his chest, and she could feel is strong heart slowly beat and his warm chest slowly rise.

The burning in her face died down, and her embarrassment was replaced by extreme comfort and a strong feeling of safety. _"I'm never ever going to fall asleep again without this."_ she thought with a smile. She gripped him slightly tighter with her arm, and he responded by placing a few lazy fingers on her wrist.. His head, due to a lack of a pillow, turned to the right with his cheek resting on the top of Kana's head. Even in her own excitement, Kana felt so warm and serene, that she fell asleep in less than a minute, although she fought sleep just to keep enjoying the moment for as long as she could.

* * *

Wow, ok. Now, that's one hell of a way to fall asleep. It would be an inhumane thing to say "I don't like it."

Anyway, expect update soon. I seem to have at least three to four chapters a week during a writing period.


	8. The confrontation

Man...now this one took a while. It was pretty intense. Let's just say a pretty big pile of manure hits an industrial sized fan on this one.

Not affiliated with Assassin's Creed in any way.

* * *

Chapter 8

"What do you do?" a gruff older voice now hoarse from many years of heavy breathing, yelling, and everything in between asked. "Sam, what do you do?"

A short boy with messy black hair stood on the top of roof of an apartment complex nearly ten stories high, with his hands shaking. Far below him, a man made irrigation river ran flowed along side the street facing the building. An older man with the remnants of a grey beard and a hood drawn over his head hovered over him with his arms crossed. "If your being chased, you don't have a whole lot of options." he said. "I'll ask again, what are you going to do?"

Sam opened his mouth, but no words seemed to form. His brow felt sweaty, and his knees felt weak. "I've…I've got to jump….." he said in a low whisper.

"So," the bearded man screamed, "If you say you're going to do something, than do it! You hesitate, you die!"

"_Don't think…okay…..I'll do that."_ Sam's legs started moving slowly as his feet shuffled forward. After shuffling, his feet broke out into a fast walk, then a slow jog. Eventually, his body moved faster as his arms pumped the air as hard as they could to gain as much speed as possible. His eyes were wide with determination and fright, but his body was no longer under his own control. The closer to the edge of the roof he became, the faster his heart beat until his whole chest felt the intense throbbing. The moment his foot touched the edge, he bellowed out a battle cry and swung his arms up as high he could reach.

Even with no pressure on his feet to tell him there was something keeping him up, he still felt like his was running forward. All his momentum kept pushing him forward through the air, until, a slight pull downward started to shift his horizon.

His arms flailed as if in a seizure. His stomach felt like it was moving higher and higher into his throat the faster he fell. The street below him charged at him faster and faster, but in an instant, the imagery of grey and black turned into a bluish green. He knew the water was coming, but his body had no idea how to react, until…

Just before hitting the water, he instinctually curled into a ball and drew his feet in. During the last few seconds of hang time, Sam's eyes grew larger and larger as his breath stopped. Then…

-o0o-

With eyes wide open, chest slowly heaving, breath hot, Sam woke up with a slight cold sweat. His body hadn't jerked or moved the entire time he slept, but he desperately felt like he needed to sit up. Before he could, he noticed a hand on his chest and a warm sensation on his shoulder next to his neck. The hand moved slightly higher and the warm sensation inched closer as a small sleepy sigh echoed in his ear.

"_What the?"_ He choked back and swallowed after realizing what was happening, then very slowly slid Kana's hand of him. After sliding a pillow under her head, he stood, stretched, then slapped himself in the face. The clock beside the bed read 4am, which told him he had only been asleep for about five hours, which was good enough for him. Most nights he wasn't so fortunate.

As always every morning before the sun comes up, Sam would open up the garage door, let in the bitter cold air to help wake him up, and go to work rebuilding or fixing something in the garage until the sun came up and all the kids in the prefecture had walked to school.

This morning just felt different somehow. All those meaningless things that served no real purpose, Sam could couldn't bring himself to even attempt. Maybe it was because, for the first time since his old mentor died, he faced a day that does not come often. All the assassins in the order have a name for this kind of day. The day when they confront their target and prepare themselves for any and all opposition. To Sam, a day like this he didn't have a name for, but the feeling in the pit of his stomach told him all he needed to know.

All morning, he just stood outside by the garage door and sipped a tall thermos of tea while watching the sky's brightness slowly grow. At first, the only people outside were the garbage men hauling away trash cans. One of them waved to Sam, and he returned the gesture with a nod. As the sun finally broke over the horizon, a few people opened their shops and turned their signs on. Each one waved to each other and exchanged small pleasantries by walking over and chatting. A few people walked over to Sam while making their usual morning rounds with the neighbors and said hello. The only person who actually talked to Sam for more than a few seconds was the bakery owner. No matter what hour of the day, she was practically bubbling with smiles and giddiness. This was obviously completely far gone from Sam's mood, but he put up with it with the occasional smile and nod until she retreated back to making cakes and pastries.

As some different aged children walking to school for early classes passed by, Sam gulped down the last of the tea, then headed back inside. His mind was much calmer now, after standing and watching the normal lives of normal people for almost two hours outside in the cold. Sometimes, he wondered why he did what he did. Those normal people who have absolutely no knowledge of any of this…that's why.

Something suddenly clicked in his mind like a quiet snap. The last thing he needed to know, the last piece of the puzzle he had decided to sleep on had come to him, and all he need was to sit down and flip open his computer.

-o0o-

With the window open, the slightest and earliest of the sun's rays easily shine through the window of the bedroom. Even though she felt a bit groggy, Kana had a nagging feeling she needed to get up and get focused. Today was the day. Day for what, she wasn't sure. This sensation was somewhat new to her, and for a second, it scared her. During her fright, she opened her eyes and saw that the bed was empty. Her hand and head rested on a pillow Sam had slid under her the same way she had draped over him the night before. She dressed, walked downstairs while trying to smooth out her messy grey hair, and slowly mad her presence known by inching her way into the kitchen's doorway.

"Um…morning…" she said while rubbing her eyes.

Sam, having been engrossed in whatever his computer screen displayed, looked up and smiled. "Morning." he said. "I made some breakfast and tea." In front of the opposite chair was a plate full of something and a mug. What the food could be was somewhat beyond Kana. It just had that healthy look to it.

"Thanks." she said, and sat down to eat. "What are you looking at?"

Sam flipped the computer around to show her. "Well, this morning, I had a thought. Whatever doctor these kids are taking to, it has to be the same guy at the same place. Since we know the address, I looked up the place online. Their website lists all the doctors and staff, see?"

She nodded while nibbling on the tasteless food. "Mhm…"

"So," Sam turned the computer back around and hit a few keys. "There are pictures of each staff member with a few comments by them, you know, to make the kids feel like they're not monsters out to kill them." The computer turned around again so she could see. Sam's face had a slight smile the entire time he was talking. It almost looked like he had seen something comical.

"Is one of them our guy?" she asked.

He shook his head and turned the computer back towards himself again. "At first I thought so, but one of the names on the staff list doesn't have a picture to go with it." He opened his other window and turned the computer around again. "Now, I made a fake account of this social networking site and checked out all the photos taken by these people. In this photo here," his finger tapped the screen, "There's a man in a white lab coat in the background."

"I see him. What about him?" she asked, then wiped her mouth.

"This guy doesn't have his picture on the company's website," he said, "but he clearly works there." Another picture popped up, this time much more close up and much more clear although he was still very much in the background and trying to look inconspicuous.

Kana leaned forward and strained her eyes to read his name tag. "Dr…..Wong Seung." she said. "This guy is Korean?"

"Well, the website lists him as a temporary circulating dentist. Right now, he spending a few months at this dentistry. My guess is that the medical union sends in people like this when one of the doctors is on sick leave or paid vacation." Sam stood up and poured himself another glass of tea. He leaned against the counter facing Kana and said, "This has got to be our guy."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Remember yesterday you were talking about being absolutely sure about something before acting?"

"Check out the next picture." Sam said bluntly. "If this doesn't say anything about him, I don't know what does."

She hit the right arrow key, and what popped up next convinced her. "Oh…" This picture showed him sitting at a desk fiddling with paperwork in the background again. Apparently, it was someone's birthday at the office and the rest of the staff were celebrating. This time, the picture showed the right lapel of the man's coat, which adorned a small red pin that Kana instantly recognized. "Templar…" she muttered, then turned around to face Sam. His arms were crossed, but his face still had that smile.

"I just love these social networks." he said.

"Wow….." she said. "They have people working in every line of work."

"Yep…." he sighed. "It makes you wonder if everything you see has some sort of link to these people. I guess I couldn't put it passed them."

Kana stood. "Now what?"

"Now…." Sam said, "Now I guess we just go over there and pay this guy a visit."

"Seriously? You just want to walk right in there?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

-o0o-

The dental office was on the top floor of a small two story building above a small copy center next to a convenience store and a family restaurant, where Sam and Kana had parked the bike they rode together on. Instead of all the buildings being so crammed together like in Sam's neighborhood, there was enough room for parking lots and wide crossing lanes. All the cars in front of the building all had blue license plates or blue tags next to the registration numbers for reserved parking. The infamous black car wasn't anywhere in sight, but for now that didn't matter.

Sam had donned on a pair of khaki cargo pants and a casual long sleeve blue woven shirt that covered his blades. No hood, no assassin jacket, nothing. Kana had disguised herself the same way. With a long skirt and a loose white button up shirt complete with an untied bow around the collar, she looked more like a schoolgirl dressing casual for a check up. This was exactly what Sam was shooting for. Her slightly oversized shirt did a decent job covering up her own personal lethal weapon.

"Hey, I don't know about this." Kana said as they walked to the front door. "It seems too easy. Shouldn't we be sneaking into the loading dock or something in the back?"

"Another thing to remember," Sam said, "is don't make life harder for yourself when you don't have to. You'd be surprised how far you can get before things get tense."

Kana sighed. "Yeah…still…I feel a little nervous."

Sam stopped before reaching for the door and turned to her. "So do I." he said. "Killing someone is always difficult." He turned towards the door and opened it. In a whisper, he said, "From here on, act natural."

They walked into the busy lobby full of people reading magazines, older kids playing games or listening to music on their phones, and smaller children playing with little puzzles. People, staff in white coats, and a few secretaries walked up and down the lobby. People called out names and talked to each other. The atmosphere was a little cramped, which was exactly how Sam liked it. With all the action going on around them, it was easy for the two of them to walk in between a couple families making their way too the check up rooms. As they walked, Sam read the doors on the right, and Kana read the doors on the left. When she saw the door they were looking for, Kana reached out and tugged on Sam's shirt. They stopped and face the door.

Sam knocked. "Hello? Anyone in there?" When he got no answer, he opened the door. Once they were both inside, he closed it and looked around.

"What is all this stuff?" Kana asked. There were a few gas tanks, masks, a chair full of metal accoutrements, an adjacent chair, and a glass cabinet full of bottles, needles, rubber gloves, and other stuff she didn't recognize.

"I think this guy is supposed to be an optometrist." he said. "There's some brace and retainer equipment next to the tanks, and even a butane torch."

"What's that supposed to be for?"

"Making fake teeth, I think." Sam said. "I get the feeling this guy really is an optometrist."

"You think we have the wrong guy?"

"No, not necessarily."

The noise of the door opening started both of them. Sam jumped behind the door and motioned for her to sit in the chair.

"Hello there," a man in a white lab coat and white paper mask said while making his way to the rotating stool next to the chair. Sure enough, that red pin adorned his lapel. "I'm Dr. Seung. If you sit, we can start and you won't have to be here for very long. I know how much people hate check ups."

"Uh….okay…sure." Kana stuttered. Trying to charge gears and act on your feet wasn't something she was used too, but managed to pull it off. She sat and leaned back while the doctor looked over some of his tools. Out of sight, Sam locked the door.

"Do you prefer peach or cherry flavor?" he asked.

'Wait, what?" she asked. "Um…I don't know….peach, maybe."

The doctor opened a small bottle on his tray and poured it into a napkin. Whatever it was definitely wasn't fluoride. His hand movements were purposefully out of Kana's line of sight, and Sam slowly inched his way forward. Just before he could cover her face with the napkin, Sam caught his hand and smacked his head against the arm rest.

The doctor's body dropped to the floor as he fell out of the stool. Kana got up and stood next to Sam over the doctor's body.

"Is her knocked out?" she asked. Her answer came when the doctor let out a pitiful moan and tried to sit up.

Sam bent down, grabbed him by the hair, and extended one of the blades centimeters away from his neck.

'Whoa! Oh, what the hell!" he tried to yell, but only a hoarse gasp escaped his throat. When opened his eyes, he realized who he was facing. "Oh…an assassin…"

"Good guess." Sam said. "I'm surprised you got it right on the first time. Usually someone takes me for being high or nuts."

"You're not?" he tried to laugh, but only a few faint coughs escaped his chest. "I always thought you nut-jobs were on crack."

Sam slammed his head against the wall. The mask on his face fell off one ear. "Shut the fuck up." he swore in English, "Tell me where the man in the black suit is."

"What are you talking about?"

"The one that brings kids here for you to drug up!" Sam screamed in his ear. "Your lifespan depends on how much you talk!"

"Do you say that to every one of your victims?" the doctor asked with a sinister smile, "Why would I tell you anything? No assassin lets anyone live."

"I might make an exception this time if you make my life easier." Sam growled. "You keep bullshitting like this and you won't live long."

The doctor spat in Sam's face. "Ha! Foolish boy! Don't try any of this interrogation crap on me. This isn't the first time I've been in this situation."

Kana stepped back towards the window and looked outside. "Sam?"

"Not the first time, huh?" Sam asked with a devilish grin. "First time for this?" He stabbed the man in the thigh with the hidden blade and covered his mouth. An agonizing muffled screen filled the room. "That new for ya?"

"You're insane!" the doctor screamed. "You want to torture me!"

Sam's head hung low and shook back and forth. "No…" he said. "…I just want you to tell me one thing."

"God to hell you coward of the shadows!"

Sam pulled the blade out and covered his mouth again as he stabbed him in the other thigh. A even more agonizing scream of pain vibrated his hand. Tears were streaming down his face. "This can all be over soon…." Sam said in a low monotone voice. "Just tell me what I want to know."

Still by the window, Kana tried to get Sam's attention again, but he wasn't responding. Below in the parking lot, the black car they were looking for had pulled up in the parking lot.

"If he isn't here now….." the doctor could barely say through heavy breathing and sobs, "He will be…..any minute now…."

"Sam?"

"What?"

"He's here."

Sam turned look at her pointed out the window to parking lot. He stood and walked over, then turned to face his victim again. "You weren't lying." he said.

"If you're going to do this," the doctor said with wide eyes. "Do it quick!"

"Is that the last request of a dying man?" Sam asked, then sent his blade into the throat. Blood squirted out the exit wound and down the doctor's shirt. When Sam pulled his blade out, the doctor was still alive, desperately groping at his neck to stop the bleeding.

It was no use. As he stood, Sam and Kana watched him bleed out within seconds on the floor.

"That was…..pretty ruthless…" she said. "You can be really scary if you want to be…"

Sam exhaled slowly and sat down on the edge of the examination chair. "Yeah…..sorry….. Couldn't think of anything else to do."

"Should we get out of here before someone knocks?" she asked.

He nodded, stood, and grabbed the drugged napkin from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket. They left and locked the door on their way out. As they made their way back to the lobby on of the secretaries asked, "Oh, is Dr Seong ready to his next patient?"

"Oh, not yet." he said. "The doctor said he needed to go to the bathroom."

The secretary nodded in understanding, then walked away.

"Come on." Sam whispered as they reached the lobby full of people, "When we get outside, go to the parking lot next and drive the bike behind the building."

"Got it."

They walked out casually and split ways. Sam approached the man in the dark suit. Behind him followed a young boy who looked a little nervous and confused.

"Excuse me." Sam put up and hand, "Could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Do I know you?" he asked in an annoyed temperament.

"Not directly. You see,…..ehem….there's too many hoods around." Sam said.

The man stood up straighter nodded slowly. "Oh….I see."

"Just…uh….follow me this way, and we can skip the line inside."

They made their way to the back of the building to the loading dock. If the kid following them wasn't nervous before, he was now. His hands fidgeted and he kept asking if something was happening. Neither of them gave him an answer. Sam looked around and saw no sign of Kana, except for an instant of movement behind the dumpster.

"What's going on!" the little boy demanded.

Sam turned to the man in the suit and said, "I'll take car of this." With the drugged napkin, he held it over the boy's face until he passed out and his body went limp. "Where do you want him?"

"Where?" he asked. "Don't you have a van or something?"

Sam shook his head. "Why don't we just take your car?"

The man groaned and palmed his forehead. "If we must…." He turned around and started to walked towards the front, but something suddenly covered his mouth and nose. "What the!" he screamed. Sam struggled to hold the cloth over his face, but it only lingered for a second before the man grabbed his arm, ducked, and threw him over his shoulder into the air.

The impact from the hard fall cause all the air in Sam's lungs to escape, but when a foot started to come down on his face, he found the strength to roll away just in time.

From her hiding spot, Kana gasped and took off towards the man. "No!"

The wall provided a good ledge to jump into the air with as the hidden blade under her sleeve ripped through the shirt. In the air, she was in a pouncing position to kill him, but he was quick enough to catch her arm and sling her over to the side.

In her fit of rage, she jump up and charged him with a kick. He caught her foot and threw her leg back above her head, but she was nimble enough to flip backwards and land on her other leg. With punches after kicks, she tried everything she could instinctually throw at him. A high right sidekick rewarded her with a solid thud on the chest, but it was almost as if he didn't feel it. When he threw an elbow to her head, she easily blocked, but the impact of the back on her arm was extremely rough, causing a vibrating tingling sensation. She would have extended her blade again and attacked the ribs, but her wrists wouldn't respond. The flicking motion she needed didn't seem to be happening.

Before she knew it, the man sent his knee into her unguarded stomach. The hit sent her staggering backwards a few meters until she felt a wall on her back. Her body gave out and she slumped against the wall. That one hit had taken everything she had out of her.

Slowly, he walked toward her, and she knew this net blow would finish her. When he was close enough, he grabbed her by the hair and cock his fist back behind his head. His mouth turned up into a sinister grin as a light chuckle escaped his throat. "This is going to be fun…"

No matter how hard he tried, it seemed like no air could enter his lungs. His bruised rib was now probably broken, but something inside him fueled his muscles. A feeling of desperation mixed with extreme concern, selflessness, and fury allowed him to run. It allowed him to move faster than he would have thought possible even in good condition. The closer he came, the more angry he became.

Just before the man's fist could connect with her head, his body was hit by something moving at neck breaking speed. The impact sent him and the object sprawling away from her on the ground.

"What the fuck?"

Sam got up and approached him with one arm clutching his side and the other with a hidden blade ready to strike. "What the fuck is right!" he choked out.

The man slid back and jumped up before Sam got much closer. "I can't believe I fell for this." he growled. "You made me look like an idiot."

"Don't worry," Sam gasped out, "You….won't be around…long enough for anyone to notice."

Sam crouched low and braced himself for the incoming charging bull of a man. His punch was easily dodged, but Sam's countering ability was limited. He couldn't move very fast for a long way and only had complete use of one arm. The other arm was wrapped around his side to avoid any more shots to the ribs. Sam ducked under a right hook and spun low to send a hook kick to the man's back. The strike had practically no effect except create some distance between them. With some air back in his lungs, Sam finally stopped gripping his side and crouched into an extremely low stance. A quick glance to his right told him Kana was, for now, incapacitated. She head her stomach with both arms and tried to gasp for air. _"Man….this guy hits like a fucking ton of bricks!"_

The two opponents circled each other for a few seconds, studying each other's position. Then, in a flurry, Sam jumped forward. He jumped up in the air and threw a sidekick with full force, but the larger man turned to the side. Sam's kick only met air, but when he landed, his legs spun on the ground in an attempt to sweep the leg. Because of the man's sheer mass, the sweep only nudged him to the side.

"That all you got, kid?" he laughed. "You assassins take all the help you can get huh!"

Angry, infuriated, and tired, Sam rolled back and got up again. He was facing the back wall of the building and saw Kana stagger to her feet. "I'm just….*cough*…getting started…"

The man just snorted in response and charged again. Sam dodged the fist punch and spun to the side. As predicted, the man turned and threw a knee up. Instead of dodging back, Sam sidestepped, caught the leg, and stabbed through the thigh with his blade. This was, unfortunately, risky, and gave the man enough time to land a square punch in Sam's face. Both of them staggered back from each other, but Sam recovered in time to ran forward with his blade extended. He thrust forward with one blade, but the man caught his wrist. His other blade extended forward, but faster than Sam could have expected, his other wrist was caught in another iron grip. Both of them fought against each other on their knees, Sam pushing the blades as hard as he could forward, but losing ground.

"Any….mph…last words, assassin?"

What he couldn't see but what Sam clearly could was Kana standing slightly over and behind him. "I do." she said. "Die!" In one clean motion, she stabbed him in the back before he could turn around. The pain and ruptured lung in his side gave Sam an upper hand, and he could feel his strength prevail over his opponent. His hidden blades slowly pierced and slid into the man's neck. Blood spurted from his mouth like a faucet had been turned on for a brief moment. With his last exhale, the man's body went limp and both Sam and Kana retracted their blades. His body slowly leaned to the side until he fell over, creating a fast growing pool of red below him.

Both of them panted, chests heaving up and down for almost a minute. Almost without warning, Kana threw up.

"Oh shit." Sam crawled his way over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Shit…I've got to get you out of here…"

With nothing left in her stomach, she just dry heaved. "I'm…..ugh…..alright." she choked out. "Just….give me a second."

Sam painfully stood and helped her up. With her arm around his shoulder, he walked her over to the motorcycle behind the dumpster and helped her sit facing away from the handlebars.. After leaning heavily against the dumpster, he pulled out a phone from a compartment behind the license plate and dialed the only number the phone could call.

He brought it up to his ears and once he heard the click of a receiving line on the other end, he said in a hoarse, dry voice, "Clean up crew…" then threw the phone into the dumpster without ending the call.

Kana wrapped her hands around his body and hugged him close while he started the bike up and drove off. His side hurt from her constant pressure, but if that's what she needed, then it couldn't be helped. Instead of taking the streets as he did before, he drove down alley after alley until he popped out into a four lane road running parallel with an irrigation river. The sun, now high in the sky, lit up the water beside him like a million diamonds, or maybe what he was seeing was the effect or injury and possible blood loss. Thankfully, the crisp wind on his face kept him alert and awake. The cold sensation on his body almost made him shiver.

Once he took a right onto a bridge crossing the river, he felt Kana tugging on his shirt. "Yeah?" he asked.

Her words were barely audible over the engine and the wind, but he heard her say, "Where are we going?"

Sam looked up and saw the fast approaching metropolis of downtown. "Somewhere safe." he said. "Somewhere safe."

* * *

It was a long time coming, but I feel like something was completed here. By now, I feel pretty attatched to both Sam and Kana. It's an odd feeling.

Anyway, if you read this, leave your thoughts behind. I'd love to get back to you on them.


	9. No More

I had a lot going on while writing this short chapter, which still took three days. Anyway, I hope this came out as well as I wanted it to.

blah blah blah copyrights etc.

* * *

Chapter 9

Ocean waves rose and fell slowly over each other as the evening stars competed with the city's lights from across the bridge.

From where Sam sat on his bike, warehouses covered the wharfs and ports around him. Officially, all of them were abandoned, but that isn't to say some junkies, gang members, or any other creatures of the underworld try to get inside. Usually, the warehouses were only locked up with chains and one or two security guards, but the last warehouse nearest the sea at the end of the wharf was on a whole new level. Hidden retina and fingerprint scanners proved this point when Sam drove up next to the back door. After an receiving confirmation to go inside from a small green light overhead, the door swung open on its own. _"I hate coming back here." _he thought.

Two heavily armed men in black and red tactical wear motioned for him to come inside. He dismounted, walked in, and looked around to see empty shelves two stories high the half the length of football fields. The dim blue lighting over head obscured his vision passed the shelves in front of him.

Like most warehouses or factories, there is an office portion about the size of a couple apartments that connect to the ceiling overlooking the gorund floor. Up there, a yellow glow came from the windows. The closer he came to the stairs leading up, the more Sam wanted to leave, but he braced himself and knocked.

"Come in."

Sam walked in and sat in a chair opposite of someone he recognized. "Niki?" he asked. She nodded.

"Sit please." she said, "Listen…..I wanted to talk to you before I reported anything back."

Sam sat and grunted. "Look, you called me out here to this god forsaken abandoned bureau," he complained, "so why don't you just get on with it. I have someone I need to be-"

"I know." came a stern response. "Be quiet and let me talk. Your arrogance haas cost you, and more importantly, it's cost her."

"What the fuck…are you talking about!"

She leaned back in her chair and sighed and looked at her watch. Her tired eyes squinted to read the digital dials running the numbers '2:00am'. "Yesterday afternoon, after your call, I was put in charge of the clean up crew for your last op."

"So?" he asked.

"So…as I was going over it…." she sighed. "….I noticed a something. First, I need to ask you something. Why did you directly engage?"

"What? What the hell do you mean, 'Why did I engage'?" he demanded. "This is what we do!"

"No, it isn't! Just…..calm down…..I know we've all had a long day here."

Sam leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "If your asking why I didn't report back and receive confirmation before confronting the target, it's because I saw an opening and took it." he said. "Pretty simple stuff here."

"No….no you didn't see an opening. There was never an opening! There wouldn't be a damn cleanup crew if there was an opening! You practically went in there and nearly got yourself and Kana killed you….insubordinate….foolish….Gah!" her hands pounded the table in rage. "Your thoughtless actions almost compromised the brotherhood! I should be reporting you right now! The masters would have you killed for something like this!"

Sam flinched back and put his hands up in defense. This woman was almost ten years older than him, and probably a more capable than he was.

"I would do all that….but…..but you're a good assassin. You may be foolish and cocky, but at least your hearts in the right place. Right now….we probably need all the help we can get. I've seen too many of our own die because they righteously and blindly dove into something like you did. Do you see what I'm trying to say here? I don't want to sound like I'm superior to you in any way, but as a friend in this position, I thought you should understand this before I make any reports back to HQ."

Sam bent over in his chair and bit his knuckles. "You're right….." he said. "You're right. When I saw my chance….I saw his face….and I became so angry. I just wanted nothing more than to kill him….to torture him….to make his feel the pain and suffering of those who suffered by his hand!" His bite left blood on his fist. "I can't help this thirst! I want to make them suffer!….ever since…..gahhhh"

"I know…I've been there. When my mentor died, I felt the same way." She stood out of her chair and a placed a hand on his back. "It just takes time to feel right with the world again….time…and…someone's hand."

Sam looked up and her. "What?"

"Someone's hand…" she said. "You make think it's just an old myth….but, even we assassins need someone's hand to squeeze."

He leaned back in his chair and stared off into space as she went for the door. "You should probably get going." she said. "Someone needs your right now. Sorry to drag you out here in the middle of the night like this."

-o0o-

With clear skies, the moon could be clearly seen. The stars, not so much. Lights from the expansive city nearly blocked out any and all possible specks of light in the sky. A dull dark blue traverse the sky. Never the less, the view from the roof was beautiful. What the sky lacked in brilliance the city made up for in luster

The sounds of trains running through the city on their own elevated highways mixed with the low humming of comfortable chaos that filled the air like serene white noise. On top of that very high class resort in the midst of the piercing skyscrapers, a man in a dark black and red leather jacket stood leaning against the entrance to the roof. His eyes gazed across the expansive bright horizon with an expressionless face as a wisp of smoke from his half smoked cigarette slowly rose from his face.

The door opened, and he stepped back to face the intruder.

"You really shouldn't."

The man's head came up, revealing a grey beard and a hardened face. "Yeah…" he sighed with a gruff voice, "But you're still a kid. Some things you still don't understand."

Sam, standing almost the same height, leaned against the wall next to him. His hood came over his face the exact same way. If the bottoms of their faces weren't shown, their appearance would be almost identical. "Try this." Sam said, holding out his hand with a small white cube in it.

"Gum doesn't work for me." he said. "Sooo….where'd you run off to? You never gave me a chance to talk to you after dropping off Kana."

"I got…a pretty damn good scolding from someone." he said. "She was right…..I'm way too cocky…."

The old man, still sporting an athletic build, gave him a raised eyebrow. "No shit…..just like your mentor. He was cocky as hell too. Never listened to reported in to anyone." he said, then took another pieced offered to him. "…But, that's just the way I liked the guy. ...So, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." Sam sighed. "I guess."

"How bout that little apprentice of yours?" he asked. "Did visit her before coming up here?"

"Yeah, I did." he said. "Still asleep for now. The doctor told me she suffered some internal hemorrhaging, but nothing to worry about as long as she doesn't strain herself."

"You know," the man turned to him after taking another drag, "You seem pretty attached to her."

"Huh?"

"I'm just saying. I never saw your mentor get so broken up when you got hurt and had to come here."

"Ack, come on…" Sam sighed. "She's…one of use…of course I was concerned….I mean….if she didn't make it, that's on me."

"Yeah…that's part of it." he said while flicking the cigarette butt on the ground. "But….that wasn't the face of someone just concerned. You looked like you'd probably do something drastic if she didn't make it."

Sam turned to face him. "She was placed under my wing." he said. "It's my job to make sure she's ok….besides…..she's a great kid…we could use more like her."

The man chuckled while opening the door. "You got that right…haha" he said while walking down the stairs. "I'd wait a little while though."

The door closed, leaving Sam alone on the roof. He spit his gum out and popped another piece in his mouth, then growled, "Lay off, old man."

-o0o-

Couple days later.

Kana gasped and sat up. Something about her surroundings was really off. It looked like an expensive hotel complete with chandelier lighting, except no furniture cover the room except a table in ht middle of the room with a computer, a set of strange looking hospital equipment, and the reclining bed she laid on.

"Oh, your awake. It's about time too." An older but rather fit looking grey hair man with a gruff beard said standing next to a heartbeat monitor. "I know you're confused, so calm down and give me a chance to explain before you start tearing your gown off and freak out. I hate it when that happens."

Kana just stared at him blankly.

"You're downtown in one of the brotherhood's guilds. You were seriously injured, and your mentor brought you here."

"What?" she asked. "Sam?…Where is he!"

"Whoa, calm down. Don't jerk around like that." he said. "If you do that, your"

"Owwww….damn…" Kana laid a hand on her stomach and grimaced.

"Yeah…." he sighed. "I told you not to squirm."

"I want to see Sam!" she demanded. "What's happening?"

The man palmed his face and groaned. "Every time!" he exclaimed. "Every time someone wakes up they freak out!"

Kana stopped and looked him over. He wore a red and black assassin jacket with the hood down. "Wait….you're." something clicked for her. "You're an assassin?…"

He nodded. "Duh….what did you think I was? Never mind, no point in answering. I shouldn't be picking on you right now."

Her arms felt extremely stiff, like she had been a asleep for too long. "Was I asleep?"

"Yeah. For about three days. We had a doctor sedate you before poking your naval. He said to keep you under for a while until you woke up on your own." he said. "You were….well, you weren't in the best shape when you came in here."

"Is Sam here?"

"Oh, your mentor? Well, he was here." he said and pointed to the edge of the bed and a chair. "He sat and slept right there for almost two days until I forced him to get some fresh air."

Kana suddenly felt like she had to cry. "He…he did?"

"Yep." the old man stood in front of the monitor and flicked the screen with his finger. "Sure did." he said. "I gave him some shit for it too last night. His face was hilarious and he got so pissed…haha."

"Sam….." she whispered.

"If you want, you can try getting out of bed, but take things slow. The last thing you need is some stress on the inflamed area."

She pulled the blanket off and tried to swing her legs over the side, but that required the use of her abdominals, which burned too much for her to handle. "Ahhhh….." she moaned before sitting up and taking a deep breath.

The room's door opened, and Sam walked in with huge bags under his eyes with his hood down with a cup of tea in his hand. His black hair was completely messed up, and Kana thought his appearance was almost comical.

"Sam!" she shouted.

He smiled sheepishly, but in heart he was more relieved than ever. "Hey, you're up." he mumbled. "Get enough sleep there?"

Kana just put a hand out and motioned for him to come forward. He slowly shuffled his tired feet and asked, Oh, you want this? If your thirsty I can get you something else."

No answer, but her arms spread open wide. He sat down on the edge of the bed while taking a sip.

"Sam?"

"Mh?"

"Put the coffee down."

"Uh…" he set it down on the ground, "Ok. It's on the ground, now what?"

"Give me a hug." she said.

Sam coughed a tired laugh. "You need one that bad?"

"No…no it's not me." she said with her arms out. "It's for you."

He just sat there, looking at her, trying to put on a confused face, but his chin quivered slightly. His eyes felt wet, and his cheeks burned. "Yeah….." he sighed while pulling her close slowly, "Thanks…..you were right."

"Right. I'll just…uhhhhh" the old man walked towards the door and left.

She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. "I didn't know you were so worried."

"Worried, huh…Not just worried….I felt really guilty." he said. "All this is my fault."

She pulled away a few inched to look at him. "Shhhh…it's fine." she whispered while using the back of her hand to wipe a tear away. "No one's blaming you for anything. You did what you thought was the best course of action. It's fine…really…I'm a tough girl. Stop crying…come on now."

He tried to force a smile, but had to look away.

"This isn't about you messing up, is it….?" she laughed. "Crying really doesn't suit you. You look like an idiot."

That got him to smile. "Ah…yeah, I guess I am one." he sighed. "God….I'm just glad your ok."

"Thanks." she squeezed her arms back around him and gripped the material on his back. "I've never really had someone worrying about me like you do."

He brought a hand up on her head and patted some stray grey hairs down. "Yeah…..and I've never really worried about anyone like I worry about you." he said. "What confuses me is, I don't know why."

"Mmmhhh." she contently sighed. "I don't know either….but I like it."

"Me too." he laughed. "Me too….you hungry?"

"Just….just don't move for a while…." she mumbled and buried her face in his shirt. "….please?…"

"But….you got to be at least thirsty or something," he said and pulled away to stand up, "Why don't I get you a bottle of water or someth-"

She practically lurched forward and screamed, "NO!" Her arms held a death grip around his waist, and Sam could feel the shirt under the open front of his jacket get a little moist as her shoulder heaved slightly up and down. "No…please…don't…I was so scared, Sam….I thought I was going to die…."

The gravity of how close she had come to death started to emotionally rattled her. The gravity of her pain, her gratitude, her admiration, and relief set in so far deep she couldn't even move. "I thought I was the one crying here….Where did this come all of the sudden?" he asked. "Whoa…whoa…I don't mind if you cry, but try and calm down." While rubbing her back, he stroked her short grey hair. "You need to calm down. Don't get so excited….it's ok….shhhhh….shhhh…"

The stroking and the petting seemed to help. Her crying stopped and when she looked up again, her eyes were pink. "Sorry…" she sniffled, "It just…kind of hit me…"

"Maybe….we shouldn't cry in front of each other, huh?" he chuckled. "Right now, you could really just use some rest." Sam rubbed wiped her eyes with his palm and handed her the tea. "Drink, then sleep." he commanded while leaning her back against the pillow. "Get some rest."

"Are you leaving?" she asked, sudden anxious again.

He sat in the chair and laid his head down beside her on the bed. "I'm not going anywhere." he said while closing his eyes. "Sleep…..sleep….."

While resting her head comfortable against the pillow, she closed her eyes.

"Hey, Kana?" he asked in a low mumble.

"Mmmh?"

"What do you say to a little vacation?" he asked. "I really need some time away from all this."

"That….sounds nice….I'd like that." her hand gently rubbed his hair back and forth.

"Great…." he yawned, then drifted off to sleep. "Great…."

* * *

This...At least for the first installment of these two, is over. I need a break from this, but one of these days, I'll come back to follow up. When I do, expect more chapters.

Well, for now, so long. I hope too see you soon.


	10. Not Finished

Well, it's sure been a long while. For me, and for Sam, it's back to the grindstone.

Rights to Assassin's Creed belong solely to it's holders, not me. Still, I'd be surprised if someone actually made a thing out of this if I didn't mention it.

* * *

Chapter 10

Location: fly over country, United States.

Outside, amidst the dead sagebrush and sand dunes of the Mohave Desert sat a small truck stop littered with touring and chopper bike outside the bar. Cactus dotted the sandy parking next to a few outhouses. Bad country music, the smell of cheap cigarettes, and the musty stench of harsh alcohol almost emanated from the shanty building.

Through the evening air, as the bright sun finally started to fall in the horizon, a lone man on a large chopper motorcycle roared down the road. His leather hide trench coat was once black, but after years of wear and tear, now sported a rough brown. His Stetson hat held down by a leather strap cover his face that hadn't seen a razor in over two days, complete with a pair of old goggles that had a few pieces of dust clinging to the rim. His eyes desperately clung to the radiant blue they once held in his youth, but after the things he had seen in his life, the blue had slowly turned slightly grey, as did his short but messy blonde hair hidden away from the day's harsh sun. His tan pants, sporting a red stripe down the inseam, was covered in the dust kicked up by the road. Tall riding boot clinging his ankles up to his calves over his pants had seen the worst of it all. Dust, sun, water, heat, cold, those boots had seen and felt it all.

The rough road under him made his motorcycle bounce with ever bump he endured. His hands clenching the handlebars with the help of fingerless black gloves vibrated violently from the engine's idling. The only headlight below the handlebars lit up only a small patch of road in front of him as he went.

At last, he saw it. At last, he saw relief, and as he turned off the road into the dirt in front of the truck stop, he could almost feel his thirst being quenched. At last, he stopped and got off, at last his feet touched ground, and at last he could stand up straight again.

"Ahhhhh…" he sighed with a deep and gruff voice while cracking his fingers and neck.

"Rough ride, huh kid?" A fat man with a large white beard in a black leather vest asked.

"Yeaghhhh…" he answered while pulling off the goggles and strapping them to his hat. "It was."

"Me too, kid. C'mon. I'll buy you a drink."

He nodded and followed the other biker into the bar. Immediately, the musty stench and smell hit his face like a mallet, but after years of exposure, he shrugged it off his shoulder like he always did. At least twenty people, old men, young but fast aging women all wearing some sort of leather riding gear huddled around three pool tables dimly lit by cheap stain glass lighting with bear symbols etched on the side.

They sat down at the wooden counter and leaned against the edge. "What can I git yeuhs?" the bartender asked.

"Whiskey on the rocks." the fat bearded man said.

The man in the stetson didn't bother to take his hat off while answering. "Milk….if you got it."

The bartender looked at him with perplexity, not to mention a few missing teeth. "Milk? You bess not be one of dem pretty boys never drinkin. In here, you bess be drinkin somethin!

With the point of his hat baring forward at the bartender, he said, "I'd like a fuckin milk, idget! Bess you not make me wait," he stood up in a flash with his wrist extended. Somehow, a small stub nose six shooter appeared in his hand without drawing his arm back. The barrel pointed directly between the bartender's eyes. "I don't know what kind of shit hole would let such an inbred son of a bitch like you out of the dog house, but if you wanna keep that fucked up mug of yers, then you bess be fetchin my milk!"

With hands up in the air, and with everyone in the bar's full attention, the bartender stood at the gun like he was about to shit himself.

"Get'm is milk!" a man holding a pool cue shouted. His response was met by the bar's full enthusiasm.

"Ight! Ight! Here!" the bartender run to one end of the bar filled up a large pint sized glass with milk from an outdated looking dispense, then slid the glass down the counter.

The man in the stetson caught the glass easily, and chugged the milk down like there was no tomorrow. He slammed the glass down on the table and sat down before wiping his mouth. "Was that so fuckin hard?!" The bartender was about to shake his head and repeatedly say no, but was cut off. "Don't need to fuckin answer. Just shut the fuck up."

The fat man sat there petrified and afraid to move. While standing up, the man in the stetson hooked his thumbs through his belt and arched his back enough for it to crack a few times. The belt buckle his thumbs brushed up against donned a red and black A-shaped symbol a very select few people know very well. "Sorry to bother y'all." he said while flicking a few dollars on the table and walking out.

The door behind him swung closed, and he looked up just in time to see the last of the sun's rays set and the sky fill up with stars.

"Nice night, ain't it Don?"

The voice came from across the dirt parking lot in front of him and his eyes snapped down. His right arm extended like a lighting bolt and his hand again caressed a six shooter pointing straight forward. "You come out now, ya hear!" he shouted. "You wanna play a game in the dark, then I got no objection!"

"Relax, Don." a man stepped into the only outside light next to him and put his hands up. "You still wearin that ole hat of yers?"

The first thing Don noticed was the red and black leather riding jacket with a hood that obscured the face of whoever was talking to him. A small triangular point hung over the eyes from the hood like a hawk's beak. The red trim on the front revealed the same symbol on his belt buckle. As he lowered his hand and let the small pistol retracted back under the sleeve of his trench coat, he asked, "Joe?"

"Yep…one and only." Joe said. "Glad you still got that speed."

"What the hell you want to find me for?" Don asked. "Last I saw yer ass was back in Salt Lake."

"Yeahhhh…" Joe sighed. "I remember that. Dem templar shit-fucks weren't too happy about that. They saw yer face and blacklisted yer stupid ass."

"You don't think I know that?" Don growled. "You look downright moronic in that stupid getup of yers. Where'd you learn to dress like that?"

"You've been out of the game too long…" Joe sighed, then turned back into the darkness. "Come on…get on your bike. I need to take you somewhere."

"And if I don't wanna?" Don asked.

A laugh could be heard from the darkness under the light of the night sky. "You were never on to pass up a job, were you Don."

"Damn-it to hell…." he sighed while walking back towards his bike. "This better be worth my time."

-o0o-

London, England

One of the nice things about big cities in the west are the massive, well kept, very green, and very lush parks maintained by the cities. Like Central Park in New York, Hyde Park in London is home to thousands of children to adults participating in league sports, festivals, parades, and even the passive action of feeding the birds.

One such person sitting on one of two park benches that faced opposite directions back to back found some solace and peace in doing just that. Her light brown hair waved in the light breeze like a brilliant flag, and he soft face relished the sun's rays on her skin. If she stood, her long legs could carry her as high as five foot eleven, and her hazel green eyes could pierce the soul of any man that gave her a second glance. The clothes she wore were plain, but professional. Although she was without a doubt attractive, her dark pantsuit wasn't going to win any fashion contests. Each little strip of bread she ripped up increased the flock of birds in front of her until a few children on roller-skates sped through. The birds scattered in a flash like a cloud dissipating in the air.

"Heehee…." she sighed while resting her arms against the back of her bench.

A man in a dark suit carrying a briefcase sat on the bench facing the other way. "You know…" he said, "…the signs says not to feed the birds."

She tensed up, but didn't turn around. "You actually read the bloody signs?"

He nodded although she couldn't see her. "So, how's retirement treating you? You really let your hair grow out. I don't suppose you've become bored yet, have you?"

She smiled up at the sky as the serene sunlight soaked into her skin. "I haven't." she said. "Not yet at least."

"Alright, but Laura, if you want a change of pace…." He stood and buttoned up his suit jacket. "I'll leave this with you."

He walked away, but left his suitcase behind. "Sorry to drop this on you without much of a conversation, but I'm a busy man." In the midst of all the people walking and roaming about, a sense of irony loomed over here. In such a brief and rather seemingly unimportant conversation, her world changed. Perhaps if she was just some ordinary person, or some ordinary woman like all the women around her, then what would it matter? If her world was changed by some minuscule event, then life for everyone around her goes on without missing a beat. As timeless as the daily struggle of an individual may be, her life held more meaning that she cared to admit.

That small conversation, that small encounter with an ex-colleague, it put more pressure on her than she wanted.

The right thing to do would be to pick up the briefcase and leave. Become what she once was, and continue the fight she had for so long been a part of. Wouldn't that be the right and honorable thing to do? Wouldn't that be the noble and just thing to do? So, there really wasn't a choice. There really wasn't such a thing as retirement.

"Bloody twat…" she mumbled, then picked the briefcase. "…this is too soon."

Even after a few years of trying to forget, she could still remember everything. In her mid-thirties, she should feel young and healthy, but her mind felt weary and tired. A part of her had no desire to fight on in a war that the world knew nothing about, but another part of her knew it was the right thing to do. There was no way to refuse without crossing a moral line; that thin red moral line.

"Alright…." she sighed. "I'll do it…"

With one hand, she toyed with her long hair. _"Couldn't hurt to get it cut."_

-o0o-

Nightclub in Traktir, Russia

A vast and pulsing rainbow of lights flooded the warehouse. Small stages erected in random spots we made home to stripping dancers, both men and women, surrounded by thousands of people are jam packed together, writhing and clinging to each other in chaotic dancing. Enormous base speakers gave the large warehouse a vibrating sensation through each bone of everyone's body. Off in a small corner of the club, a few bar counters lit up but translucent neon and black-light contained line after lines of blow. Obnoxiously dressed men wearing aviator glasses took turns inhaling the substance, and a few of them even had bloody noses. Women all around staggered and stumbled over themselves and each other as if the world around them was kaleidoscope.

In the massive crowd moving like a sea of people, a young man appearing to be in his early twenties gyrated with his arms in the air, shaking his long dyed red and black hair back in forth. His body was bare except for tight leather pants, and leather vest, and on his left arm, a leather bracelet covering most of his forearm with its leather straps flapping around as wildly as his hair. The wrist portion of his accessory actually had a round watch face. This had to be the only realistic thing he wore.

The chaos and confusion around him was, at least in the moment, home. Everything and everyone acted purely on animal instinct. For most people, this type of loss of control would be without a doubt petrifying.

Unlike everyone else however, this man in black kept careful attention on his surroundings. His eyes moved back and forth in-between the massive crowd while he mimicked the movements of people around him. At last, what he was waiting for had shown up.

As difficult as it was to see through the flashing confusion from the lights and the people, he could barely make out the one individual he had been looking for. Slowly, he made his way through the crowd towards an rather tall, muscular, and angry looking black individual. He stood next to a very tall stage with three levels at least five feet high each. On each level, dancers in all colors grinded and groped each other like the most idiotic of mammals.

Instead of directly confronting who he stalked, the young man circled around the stage and climbed to the top level. A high looking girl tried to wrap her arms around him, but he quickly shoved her off. The fifteen foot fall to the dance floor probably would have at least broke one of her bones, but neither she or anyone else would be cognitive enough or even care about it at all. This kind of atmosphere could be the most perfect to an assassination, but also the most dangerous.

At last, in position, he jumped up into the air and extended his left arm out. During his decent, a long shining blade shot out from his wrist.

Just before he could strike, the large black tank of a man sidestepped and threw and elbow up into his side. The impact sent the assassin sliding several feet, successfully tripping up a few people he knocked into. The first attempt was unsuccessful, not to mention almost crippling, but the crowd was perfect cover. For now, the prey had now become the predator. The larger animal now stalked to smaller.

There was one last strategy to resort to which he hadn't wanted to try, but there was no helping it. Once he regained his breath, he started grinding up on some random person he hadn't even given a glance at, and waited until his stalker came close enough. His cover was good, especially in the crowd, but the anxiety of being attacked from any direction made him edgy. In his dancing movements, his rhythm was off. His stalker didn't take long to find him.

Like a bull charging, the built man charged at him with full force, and in the process, violently knocked down anyone in his way. With his cover blown, the young assassin grabbed the girl he was dancing with and flung her towards his attacker. This gave him a split second of distraction to slip back into the crowd again.

The black man, in rage, looked around in fury. He screamed although the music around him completely masked his voice. Then, directly in front of him, he could see the assassin standing directly in front of him, motionless, with blade drawn.

He charged again and threw punches in the air as fast as he could. Each time, the young red and black blur dodged each attack, then followed up with a jab to gut. The smaller man's strikes did very little, but in succession, they were able to slow the angry giant down. A right haymaker aimed directly for his head came baring from the side. The assassin ducked back as the punch barely grazed his nose and spun around passed the other mans shoulder. Now facing the back of his target, the assassin sent his blade into the man's left side. Blood came pouring out like a faucet, but in his rage and drugged up state, the wound did very little to stop any more oncoming punches. Instinctually, the assassin jumped back as the blitz continued. There wasn't much else to do besides run. He couldn't keep dodging his attacker forever. Sooner or later, someone else in the crowd would prevent him from moving out of the way. Then, the perfect solution came to him.

After ducking back into the crowd again, the bleeding and drugged up man still in his rage looked around. The air in his lungs came harder to him, which made the assassin think he may have collapsed on of his targets lungs. The assassin circled through the crowd back around until he face the man's back again. This time, he wouldn't fail.

The wrist watch portion of his forearm guard was home to a Kevlar coated cable that operated the same way as a tape measure. He grabbed the end of the cable and pulled about three feet of it out while slowly stepping forward.

Completely caught by surprise, the target could feel something thin but strong strangling his neck. He tried to grab at it, but the thin cable was sunken to far into his neck to get a finger through. With the added affect of the punctured lung, the large man quickly lost all oxygen and blacked out. His body fell limp to the floor as blood started to pool around him.

For good measure, the assassin sent his blade through his neck, then disappeared into the crowd again. It wouldn't be too long before someone noticed the dead body, but it wouldn't take very long at all for the dead man's private security to notice his missing presence. After climbing up a rafter and escaping through a hatch in the roof, the assassin took a deep breath. Snow had piled up at least two feet high and flakes still kept falling down. The temperature had to be in the negative digits, and he instantly felt the cold thanks to a lack of warm clothes.

In the distance, he could see a green light bulb attached to a rope that moved through the air. He could barely hear the sound of helicopter rotors over the noise inside. The rope brushed against the snow on the roof, and he leaped for it just before the rope ascended back into the air.

His right hand barely caught the end of the line as the helicopter kept moving forward and higher up. The added wind and chill affect almost froze him to death right there, but he as able to climb inside the helicopter's cabin and close the door before going into shock.

A man in a jumpsuit wearing a pilot helmet draped a heated blanket over him, then said through the radio, "We got him! The extraction is a go!" He turned to the shivering figure and asked, "You alright, comrade?"

With chattering teeth, he couldn't talk, but instead gave a very forced thumbs up before tugging at the blankets.

-o0o-

Small shopping district in Kyoto, Japan

The garage door of the motorbike shop had a plastic sign swaying slightly in the breeze that said 'closed'. The woman in a black pantsuit and short layered dark hair standing outside couldn't be more irritated.

"Oh…for gods sake." Laura Davis sighed before sitting down on the step of the front door "It's almost been a whole bloody hour. When do they plan on getting in?"

A young girl, elementary school age skipping along down the sidewalk playing fully hummed to her self. As her gaze picked up on the irritated woman, she stopped and turned. "Excuse me. Are you a foreigner?"

"Wah? Oh, a little girl." she stood and leaned down. "Yeah, guess so."

"I'm Miki." the girl said. "Do you know Mr. Nakamora-san?"

"_Is that his name?" _Laura asked herself. "Well, in a way, I do. We're….associates of sorts."

"Associ-what?" the girl asked, confused.

"Sorry, my Japanese is seriously to be desired." the woman said.

"Oh…that's ok. Mr. Nakamora says funny sounding words sometimes too."

"Um…Miki, how do you know Mr. Naka….uh, the man who lives here?"

"He comes down my bakery all the time."

"Your bakery?"

"Yep. Me, onee-chan, and oka-san all work there." the girl said with a giggle as if this was common knowledge.

"Ah…I see."

"If you're looking for Mr. Nakamora-san, he isn't here."

"When is he coming back?"

"I don't know."

"What about this evening?"

"Probably not."

"What!" After composing herself, she cleared her throat, then asked, "Why? Where did he go?"

"On vacation."

"What!"

The second exclamation seemed to scare the girl a bit. She stepped back and flinched, but more so because of confusion. "Why do you want to find him so badly?" Miki asked.

"Look," Laura bent down to face her. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone who knows where he went, would you?"

"My mom knows, I think."

"She does? Could you possibly take me to her?"

"Sure! This way."

Laura followed the skipping girl down the street until they reached a bakery with flashy signs out front. "Hello?" Laura looked around the shop, but didn't see anyone.

"Oka-san? Onee-san?" the little girls shouted out.

An almost perpetually exuberant and cheerful woman whose face looked almost as if it was stuck in a smile came out from behind the register and waved a greeting. "Welcome! Can I help you?"

"Hi mom!" Miki shouted while giving her mother a hug.

"Hi Mizuki. How was school?" her mother asked while patting her on the back.

"Great! Chio-chan and I made a big milk waterfall outside today!"

"_Well, that's just stupid."_ Laura thought. _"I guess even Asian children act like morons too."_

"Science is fun!"

"_Well, that just explains bloody everything."_

"I glad you had fun today." her mother said with a smile, then turned to Laura. "Hello there."

"Hi."

"I'm sorry my daughter dragged you over here. She probably wanted you to try a scone. They're her favorite you see, heehee."

"No, it's alright. I asked her if she could take me to you."

"To me? Well, this is a surprise. I hope nothing happened."

"Um…listen, I've had kind of a long couple of days, so I'd rather skip the pleasantries if that's alright with you."

"I see. You must be one of Mr. Nakamora-san's friends." she said. "Am I right?"

Laura shrugged. "Partially. We're….associates."

"Asso-what?"

"We work together."

"Oh, I see. Did he not tell you where he's going?"

"I guess you could say that."

"That's strange. The last time her and Kana were here was about a week ago. They stopped in to pick some stuff up from a little road trip."

"Wait, who's Kana?"

"Oh, she's….his assistant, or something. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure."

"Kana is short!" Miki said. "And she has grey hair! I like her. She's nice!"

"_So….this guy has an apprentice already….no bloody way."_

"That she does, heehee." her mother laughed. "As far as I can tell, they work together as well."

"Do you know where they happened to go?"

"Mizuki, why don't you unpack your bag and have a snack in the back, ok?" her mother asked. Her daughter nodded and hummed as she skipped away behind the register out of sight into another room. "Last week, Sato told me he was planning on going to the Koibana Onsen up north."

"The what?" Laura asked. "I honestly have no idea what that is."

"It's a….retreat of sorts. There's a hot springs retreat about twenty miles north of Purituri station. It's…..it's a lovers retreat. Around here, it's pretty infamous."

"_Bloody hell?…..Is he really at a place like that?" _Laura thought, then said, "I…I see. No kidding….well, thank you for your time."

"Eh? That was abrupt."

Laura started to walk out, Sorry, but I really to find him. Please take care." With that, she left the building leaving the bakery owner in confusion. _"That bloody twat….going to a resort unannounced…..why the hell do I have to be the one to track him down!"_

-o0o-

"This is nice…." Kana sighed.

Sam nodded and laughed. "Yeah….it sure is….mhm."

Hot steaming water gently bathed their naked skin as they sat slouched across from each other in what looked like a large hot tub built in an indiscernible shape. Other people around them talked and chatted away, but everyone mostly kept to themselves, considering the awkwardness of outdoor nudity. Regardless, it couldn't be helped. It was the resort's policy.

The night sky full of stars made the entire atmosphere strangely transfixing. The steam radiating in the moonlight almost looked scary if the experience as a whole wasn't so unbelievably relaxing.

To the side stood a large, wide, and very antique looking building leftover from the Edo period. Inside housed eccentric style rooms rented out to patrons staying overnight or longer.

"I honestly had no idea places like this existed." Sam said. "I've lived her for so long, and not once had a place like this been mentioned."

"It's not like….it needs…to be advertised…." Kana yawned.

"We should probably get out if you're getting sleepy." Sam said. Kana could only nod in response while holding out her arms from him to help her up out of the water. Thanks to the relaxing effects of the water, Sam was only able to pull her out of the water, then collapse on ground, panting. Kana fell into his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Sorry…." he panted. "I stood up out of the water way too fast."

Kana giggled and nuzzled his shoulder with her cheek. "That was fun. Can we do that again?"

Sam laughed. "Alright, I think it's time you went to bed."

"But….I don't wanna…" Kana yawned while being carried back to their room. "I wanna stay up and have some more fun…"

"Seriously?" he asked. "I honestly don't think I have it in me."

"Awww." she whined. "No fun at all."

Sam slid the door open to the side with his foot, then gently lowered her down onto the extra large futon. When her back touched, he tried to stand up, but her arms around his neck wouldn't let him. "Um…you're going to have to let go." he said, his face flushed partially from the bath and partially from the close contact.

Kana's eyes were only half open and her cheeks red as strawberries. Her breath on his face was hot and labored. It took no sixth sense to tell why she was flustered. Even Sam's both felt the heat rise again, but enough of his mid was grounded enough to realize something. _"Uh-oh….she looks a little dehydrated." _He pulled away with just enough force, and stood. Kana started to pout and she turned away. "No fun at all….."

"Wait here." he said while leaving the room and trying to throw a robe on. "I'm going to get you something to drink. I'll be right back."

"Ok…fine…."

A minute later he came back with two glass bottles of cold milk. Kana had sat up and she seemed more cognitive. Sam sat down beside her and said, "Here, drink this." She accepted, and together they gulped the milk down as fast as they could.

"Ahhhh." they both gasped.

"Thanks." she said. "I really needed that."

He nodded while wiping his mouth. "Yeah, no kidding. My head feels lighter now."

Kana yawned and stretched out her arms before collapsing onto Sam's lap. Then, after adjusting new sleeping position, Sam patted her head. "I guess *yawn* I could use some sleep too…." He fell back against a pillow and Kana crawled up his torso to lay her head on his shoulder. "It couldn't hurt."

-o0o-

Laura got off her shiny black motorcycle and pulled her helmet off. In front of her stood the Koibana Onsen. "What the bloody hell kind of place is this?" she asked no one in particular out loud while walking inside. "It looks…god awful strange."

"Hello!" a woman wearing a layered silk looking robe said behind a desk.

Laura tucked the helmet under he arm and pulled her hood up. This time, she ditched the pantsuit and gone for a black and red leather assassin jacket and tight dark blue denim. "Hi. I'm not planning on staying or anything. I just need to find someone."

"Oh?" the woman behind the counter look ditsy and confused. "Are you two meeting up today for just one day?"

"What? No, I said I'm not staying, and I'm not here on vacation with anyone. I'm just looking for someone."

"Hmm….You know, two people with that same jacket came in a few days ago." she said.

"Really?" Laura asked ecstatically. "Finally! Which room are they in?"

"Oh no…I've said to much already. Sorry, but I can't just give out information on our guests."

"Ugh…bloody hell." she groaned in English. "Please miss. I don't want to have to do this any other way. Just tell me where they are. I don't feel like playing this game."

Out of sight and mind of their conversation, a short but slender grey haired girl wearing a guest robe walked passed them carrying bottles of water in both hands. She turned to see what the commotion was about and nearly dropped her bottles. "Um, excuse me."

Laura turned to face the third voice. "You need something, kid?"

"You looking for us?" Kana asked.

"Us?" Laura backed up and looked her over. "Wait…no way…there's no way. You can't possibly be Kana."

"Um, that'd be me." she nodded. "Why so shocked?"

"You're….just a kid!"

Behind Kana, a tall black haired man with long bangs walked up. His facial expression were almost indiscernible with the hair over his eyes. His body wasn't particularly bulky, but extremely tone torso stretched his skin tight over his collar bone. With one hand he brushed his hair out of his face, and the other he placed on Kana's shoulder. "No, she's just shorter than most."

"What the?" Laura looked up at him and stepped back. "You're Nakamora?"

He didn't answer right away. "Why don't you come with us back to our room." he said, then turned to the girl behind the desk. "Sorry about the commotion."

"Oh, it's no problem." she said with a smitten look. "No problem at all."

Back in the privacy of their room, they three of them sat in front of the one and only small table about a foot off the floor. "You know," Laura growled. "You really ought to tell your HQ where you went for vacation. Otherwise, *ehem* someone has to go looking for you for almost a week."

Kana sipped her water with both hands and handed the bottle to Sam before laying down on the futon.

"If I did that, it wouldn't be a vacation, would it?" he said.

"Yeah…" Laura sighed and rubbed the back of her head. She held out a hand, and he shook it.

"Sato Nakamora. You can call me Sam."

"Laura Davis. Why the name Sam?"

"Sato Nakamora isn't my only name."

"Never met someone with more than one name she said."

"Over there," Sam gestured to the passed out girl on the futon. "That's Kana."

Laura stared at her. "Jesus.." she said in English. "You two look like bloody kids."

"We are." he said in English. "You from Britain?"

She nodded. "Your English sounds mid-west American."

"I used to live there as a kid before I ended up her." he said.

"How the hell did you end up here?" she asked.

"Long story."

"Always is, isn't it."

"They both nodded in understanding."

"Soooo….." Sam leaned back on his hands. "Why are you here tracking us down?"

Laura unzipped her jacket and pulled out a small folder. It slid across the table in Sam's direction. "It's a follow up on your last assignment." she said. "You're not finished."

* * *

Yeah, that's right. I'm not done with this. Not yet, at least.


	11. Time to Go

Thankyou for reading and sharing your feelings on the story. It really helps, and is greatly appreciated. Your support is truely wonderful.

The rights to Assassin's Creed belong solely to it's owners.

* * *

Chapter 11

Before he could open the folder, Laura stopped him. "Hang on. Before you open that, I should say something." She sighed and leaned back on her hands while looking up at the ceiling. "Inside, you'll probably read some information that won't agree with you. In my opinion, you did the right thing. You'll see what I mean."

"Okay?…" he mumbled while opening to the first paper clipped page. So far, all he read was a summarized report on himself, his dead target, and a couple of pictures identifying who and what. The next few pages, however, caused his body to heat up in anger and his hands to clench the sheets. "What the fuck is this!" he screamed in English, causing Kana to sit up straight and rub her eyes.

"I know….I know." Laura said.

"Sam?" Kana crawled over to his with a groggy expression and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?" Her physical contact didn't even register to him.

One paragraph said, "After reviewing the clean up report, It is hard to classify this case as a success or failure. The intended target was killed, but no foreseeable good has come of the venture. Any and all intelligence retrieved from this case is questionable, the cause of which due complete heresy. The lead assassin failed to file any direct reports or updates at all. Even a mobile effort of contact was never attempted."

A few paragraphs down was even worse. "The specialist given the assignment proved himself to be completely belligerent, arrogant, and detached. No effort was made in keeping anyone informed. Perhaps the worse offense would be the complete lack of procedure. The specialist never notified anyone of his specific plans, or even received the green light to kill. It would be hard to call this specialist a specialist at all. Perhaps even the word 'assassin' might be a stretch. Discretion was completely disregarded. In multiple instances. Even a few civilians may have been caught in the indirect cross fire, of which is no current pending investigation."

"I can't fucking believe this…" he gasped. "What the hell are they saying?"

"The apprentice assigned to the assassin was never fully prepared from the start to the finish. The assassin paid almost no heed to the his apprentice's well being or safety. She suffered heavy and substantial injuries. How the apprentice survived without life threatening injuries is the greatest mystery of all. This above all else clearly proves the assassin Sato Nakamora unfit and unable to perform his duties."

"Oh, come on!"

This outburst shocked Laura and scared Kana the smaller of the two women flinched and withdrew from his side in fear. All of this went completely unnoticed by Sam, still transfixed by the report his head in his hand. Finally, after reading everything, he set the papers down on the table, stood up, grabbed a small bag from the corner of the room and left.

"Sam! Where are you going!" Kana screamed while trying to stand and follow him. An arm on her shoulder kept her from leaving the room.

Laura took her hand off her shoulder and shook a finger back and forth. "Don't." she said. "Let me."

"But Sam just-"

"I said no. Just stay here. We'll be back in a few."

Laura left, leaving Kana angry and confused.

It took a moment or two to find him, but outside next to the baths steaming in the moonlight, Sam stood leaning against the building. His jaw moved up and down slightly as he chewed something slowly, but intently.

"You got to admit," Laura said. "Those twats really were thorough, weren't they."

He sighed. "Yeah…..yeah…they were. Kana didn't come with you did she?"

"No I told her to stay in the room."

"Good….but, I need a moment alone, if you don't mind."

Laura leaned against the wall next to him. "Is that nicotine gum in your hand?"

He nodded and handed her a piece.

She chewed slowly, then slipped the mint gum in-between her gum line. "You know something, you little tosser? I was retired four days ago, until I heard about some new basket case of the red list."

Sam just looked at her questioningly. "If this is your form of pity, why don't you just say what you have to say and get straight to the damn point."

"My point is," She poked herself in the chest. "I, along with a few others have come together to offer you a second chance."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't think you would. Let me put it this way. There are some other assassins out there who are sympathetic to your….plight." She looked at him and tugged on her jacket. "Some of us don't like to work by the book either."

"I see." Sam said sarcastically, like what she said explained everything.

"You ever heard of…the Erased?" she asked.

Sam turned and raised one eyebrow. "I thought they were just some damn myth from the old days."

She laughed. "What would you know of 'the old days' kid? Give me a break here! Hahaha."

Her just looked at her with a scowl.

"Truth is, we're still around, and we're offering you a way out of this mess. See, the higher-ups want to excommunicate you from the brotherhood. They might even kill you if they needed to."

"What! Are you serious!?"

"Bloody hell I am." she said in calm and matter-of-fact tone. "If it weren't for us, you'd probably be killed either today, or very soon by people you may know. You fucked up pretty bad, Sam. Pretty damn bad, and some people see you as a liability."

"Shit…..I honestly had no idea." he ran a hand through his hair and looked up with wide eyes.

Laura spat her gum out and rubbed her teeth with the back of her finger, then sighed. "A few days ago, myself and few other associates that I've worked with appealed to the master assassin in this city once we heard about what happened." She nudged him in the shoulder and smiled. "We like your style. Your kick down doors and kill guards approach is what we look for in a new recruit such as yourself."

"Wait, you want me….to…join up?" he asked while brushing his hair over one eye. "Why would I do that?"

"Because, if you don't, you'll be the next target of every assassin in this god forsaken glittery cartoon land of a city you bloody idiot!" she said through gritted teeth. "The higher-ups agreed to keep you alive as long as you joined us. We convinced them you might still be useful if you became an Erased. You want to live or do you want to die, and leave that poor girl of yours behind?"

Sam put up his arms and backed away. "Whoa….shit. Sorry, I get it. I get it." he said. "I guess there really isn't much choice, is there."

She shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry for coming all the way out here and agitating you like this. I've never bloody recruited anyone before, and I've never been forced to blackmail someone, much less someone on the same team." She sighed.

Sam rubbed his arms together looked down at the ground. "This….this is a lot to handle so fast."

"I can sympathize." she said. "But, at least you have a chance to fix all this."

He glanced at her and silently asked the question, "How?"

"Your last assignment…, like I said before, you're not finished."

"Not…finished?"

"You remember the children the Templars kidnapped? If any of those children turned out to be bloody useful, then they must be kept stored somewhere. If they're useful to the Templars, that means they're useful to us." she explained with hand gestures on the side. "You retrieve those kids, you sever the templar ties to human trafficking, you take out as many of those bloody bastard twats as you can, and then maybe the brotherhood may take you back and embrace you as one of their own."

"Sounds like my life expectancy is still a lot shorter than I had hoped."

"Why do you think I retired much earlier than most?"

Sam sighed. "So, what's going to happen to Kana?"

"If you want her to go with you, then it can be arranged. The more help the better." Laura said. "You can use all the help you can get right now. It's probably best to try and hang on to everything you have."

"OK." he stood up straight, and with a determined face, said "Let me pack first."

.

-o0o-

There was no stopping anywhere, not even at a gas station.

Sam had decided, after his talk with Laura, to pack everything up, get dressed, strap on all their gear, don their hoods, and ride out into the night.

Mixed emotions filled Kana's heart as her hands locked together around Sam's body behind him on his bike. She had read the report while he was outside, and realized just how difficult the situation was. She felt angry at everyone. Angry at the brotherhood for their injustice, and even a little angry at Sam for disregarding her without even giving her eye contact. He had been reckless and impulsive, but that had never bothered her. In fact, she rather liked it, but it had gotten him into trouble, and now she had been forced into it.

Above all, however, she felt scared and worried. Sam was staggering very close to the knife's edge. One wrong move, and he could be the target of both of the world's most powerful organizations at war with each other. No matter what kind of hand basket they went to hell in, there was no way she would leave his side for anything, no matter how much he had screwed up.

Laura led the way on her massive 1100cc. The bike was almost as loud as a plane and as big as a small car, so it wasn't hard to keep close behind. The riding helped keep Sam's mind preoccupied from what he desperately wanted to do at that moment. If he could, he'd pull over, turn around, and give Kana the biggest and tightest hug he could all the while apologizing, or crying, or something to show is remorse. The guilt was almost unbearable. Her injuries had cause him so must angst before, but now he was dragging her into something much worse. The part that bugged him was the fact that she would follow him to the bowels of hell without hesitation if it meant she could hold his hand for just that much longer. That kind of devotion and love, he felt as if he didn't deserve. In his heart, he knew he didn't, but that's what true unconditional love means. Just knowing that made the guilt that much worse.

While turning onto the highway on ramp, he felt her arms tighten around his waist a few times. He took his hand off the clutch and squeezed her hand a few times. The rind passing them by was too forceful for a conversation, but at the very least, Kana felt some reassurance from this gesture before he returned his hand to the clutch to switch gears.

Thanks to the very late night hour, the roads were almost completely empty, allowing them to speed a good 40 kph over the speed limit. As almost as soon as they hopped on, the three red and black hooded figures hopped off their bikes at a rest stop overlooking Kyoto city from a north mountain side.

"Say goodbye, you two." Laura said. "You won't being seeing this place for a while, maybe even never."

Sam leaned against his bike with his arms crossed. Kana sat hugging her knees by his feet. "Man…this place really is bright, huh."

Kana nodded. "If the sky wasn't black, it'd feel like day downtown."

"Our next stop is Kansai International Airport." Laura said. "I've got a small passenger jet on standby waiting."

Neither of them responded.

"Well, I'll be using the restroom." Laura said. "We'll leave in a couple."

When she was out of ear shot, Kana stood up and turned to Sam. "Is…is this really happening?" she asked. "Only a few hours ago we were having a nice bath…..and…..now this….."

"Shhhh…." he put a finger on her lips and another over his. "It's ok, don't worry. It's my problem and I'll take care of it." he said. "You don't need to get worked up over anything." She clomped her arms around him and he patted her on the head. "Are you scared?" he asked. She didn't say anything, but he could feel her head nod against himself. He pushed her away by the shoulders a few inches and met her eye level. "If you're scared," he said, "You don't have to come. I can have you stay with Niki and Katsumi. I know they wouldn't mind taking y-"

Kana cut him off by cupping his cheeks with both hands and placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Shut up Sam." she said with tearing and a quivering lip, "Don't ever, ever ask me to leave you ever again."

He smiled and returned the kiss with a bit more force. "You're right." he sighed. "What the hell was I thinking. Sorry."

Her arms wrapped tight around his neck, and they stood there embracing each other as the lights of the city below bathed their skin in artificial light.

"You think we'll really come back?" she asked. "I honestly haven't seen much of the world, but still. This is my home."

"I'll bring you home." he said. "I promise I will. This is my home too, and I've gotten rather fond of it. It…it may not be for a while…" he tilted her chin up with his finger so their eyes could meet again. "…but as long as you're here, I'll always feel at home."

She giggled. "Yeah….I knew you were going to say something like that."

"What?" he asked. "Was it that cliché?"

She nodded. "Mhm…but you did pull it off well; better than most actors."

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "That's because they're just acting." he said. "It sounds a lot more natural when you actually mean it."

"Wow…" she awed, her face red and blushed "Now….now that was pretty good."

He gently kissed her eyelid, then the lips as softly as he could. Her red tint was illuminated by the city's skyline to her right. His arms then encircled her around the shoulders in a firm yet gentle and relaxed grip. She gripped the bottom of his arms with both hands and leaned into him while burying her face in his shoulder to hide her change of color.

"Hey…Sam?"

"Hm?" he asked, then stroked her head.

She rubbed her cheek against his hand and asked, "I'm glad they didn't take you away…."

"_Me too…"_ he thought. _"You have no idea."_

-o0o-

After ditching the bikes in the parking garage, Laura insisted they both go into different janitor closets and throw all their assassin hardware into the industrial trash chutes, which included the jackets, hidden blades, and even related jewelry. Sam almost went nuts after hearing her request, but she made it pretty clear it wasn't a request. Usually, assassins traveling overseas charter private jets and skip security by walking out onto the runway, but templar influence had increased security to the point where even the bathroom had guards. This time, they would be going through security like traditional passengers.

While waiting in line to be cleared, Sam felt vulnerable and bare. The usual slight weight on his head from the hood and weight from the blades on his wrists wear gone. The short sleeve black t-shirt didn't feel like it covered enough of his skin. His head drooped slightly for his thick wavy bangs to deliberately cover his eyes and shroud his face. It wasn't until Kana gripped his hand did he regain his composure. This time, it was his hand that wouldn't let go first.

"Sir, please place everything in your pockets, your belt, shoes, and anything else with metal in this tray before crossing that line." A guard in a yellow uniform said. "Is this your first time on a plane?"

Sam nodded and said, "Yeah. It is."

The guard dismissively handed him a tray and walked away after saying, "First time for everything."

After passing the metal detectors, Laura led them passed the terminals to runway service entrance for employees only. This door was guarded, but not by someone in yellow, although his hair was yellow blonde as a chick's fur.

"We ready to go, Vorkof?" Laura asked.

The man with teased short blonde hair and a playful expression nodded. "Take off in five, if za skies are clear and vee do not need to use da facilities." he said in English with a slight Russian undertone. "Who is dis girl?" he asked.

"She's one of us. Relax." Laura said.

Vorkof laughed. "Dey get smaller as da years pass by. Ok, we go. Follow Vorkof."

They four passed by a few rooms full of lockers, cleaning equipment, and storage rooms. Once Vorkof opened the large metal door to the runway, large gushes of air assaulted them. In all peripheral directions, running lights and floodlights revolved and blinked. Vorkof had to shout over the sound of distant idling plane engines. "Dis vay!" he screamed. "Vee go to plane der!" he pointed to a small white plane off the runway. Vorkof hurried passed and used a small chain to lower a small set of stairs which double as the door.

"Have a seat anywhere." Laura said.

"Wait. All this time, I completely forgot to ask." Sam realized as the door closed and the sound of the airplane cabin came flooded the room. "Where the hell are we going?"

* * *

What started out as a small task in their home town has now turned into something much more global. Just how big is this going to get? Now that Sam and Kana are in some serious danger, anything is possible to happen next.


	12. The Missing Man

For the first time in a long time, I've had plenty of free time to write. It's extremely refreshing. Also, the reviews are too. I can't thank you enough for the support.

Assassin Creed does not belong to me, not even all the copies of the games I borrowed and never returned. (Hopefully, I won't have too.)

* * *

Chapter 12

The plane, in all its glory, featured a table with four small bolted down plastic chairs and a four small cots barely big and long enough from a normal sized person to sleep on. Two cots were attached to both sides of the cabin, one right above the other. Kana had taken to sleeping on the bottom cot on the right side, and Laura fell asleep with her head in her hands at the table. This left Sam staring at Kana's sleeping face. He could see her eyes move back and forth slightly under her eyelids. Her expression looked almost scared.

"_Must be a bad dream…" _he thought, _"…Maybe this will help." _He squeezed her hand and gently stroked her hair. This seemed to calm her down.

A voice to his right yelled out from the cockpit, "You still up back there, kid?"

Sam was about to respond, but noticed something odd out the voice. "Hey, what happened to your accent?"

"Oh…haha that…yeah, well I've been practicing." Vorkof said while sat down hard in the co-pilot seat next to him. "Pop a seat. I've been watching funny cartoon."

"What the hell?" Sam knew almost nothing about planes, but it was safe to say the autopilot was on. Vorkof sat with both feet propped up on the small dash of the plane. Next to his feet was what looked like a small smart phone device. "You've been watching TV the whole time."

"Um…duh." he said. "You think I'd have my hands on the throttle for a full six plus hours? You must be insane, kid."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I gotta give you that one…."

Vorkof turned down the volume and looked at sam with his arms propped up behind his head. "So, vhat iz…*cough*…sorry, I mean, what's your deal, kid?" he asked. "You in trouble or something? Laura back there didn't tell me much at all."

"Yeah…sort of." Sam sighed.

Vorkof just grunted. "Yeah thought so. We usually don't recruit anyone like this unless they have no other option. So, what happened?"

Sam looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"Hey, we still have almost four hours left before we touch ground again." Vorkof complained. "You want to small talk weather or do some real man to man chatting."

"Somehow…" Sam chuckled, "…That doesn't really seem to go together…Well, I guess…..I just tried to do things my own way, and it backfired."

"That's the nice thing about us. As one of the Erased, you get a lot more leniency. No one cares how you do it as long as you get the job done."

"Seriously?" Sam asked. "That sounds really high risk."

"There's a catch. You just have to make it look like it was someone else."

"Like a sting?"

"No kid. Your not thinking broad enough….Hmm….Well, for example, before I picked you up, I was out at a nightclub."

"Looking at you, I'm not surprised. You seem like the type."

"Exactly. The guy I killed had a lot of enemies in the heroine business. Guess who the finger is going to point at first?"

"But….your still wearing some…giveaway stuff, like that necklace." Sam pointed to his assassin symbol necklace interlace around his neck with three different shaded pieces of rubber.

"I like to stick to my roots." he said. "It's good to have something that reminds you of what you are."

"Hm…." Sam turned his attention back to the small screen. "…So…is the fat guy retarded or something?"

Vorkof sighed. "Man…that is a good question. In his own way, he is, but its hard to get into."

"Why does everyone in the family seem to hate the ugly daughter?"

"It's just a running gag, man. No one seems to like her."

"It's kind of funny, but I don't get a lot of the jokes."

"You know, if you want to learn about a different country, watch their TV. You learn more about their culture faster that way."

"Uh…yeah that's a good point. I can see that."

"Although, with your TV, I'm just lost."

"How's that?"

Vorkof just eyed him sarcastically. Sam put up his hands in defeat. "Yeah…yeah I get it. It is some pretty weird stuff. What the hell is this show, anyway?"

"It's an American late night Fox program called-"

"Hey, Sam?"

A small and airy voice from behind his seat startled Sam. "What the?" Behind him, with groggy eyes and a hand over her mouth in the middle of a yawn, Kana blinked a few times, then asked. "We there yet?"

"God….have I heard that before." Vorkof moaned.

Sam sighed. "Not yet…we still have about four hours or so."

"Aw, seriously?" she whined. "Not to sound like a kid or anything, but it is seriously boring on a plane with nothing to do."

Sam and Vorkof both groaned at the same time, "We know…."

"Tell me about it." the young blonde man said while running a hand through his hair. "I've had to sit here listening to him."

Kana noticed the small screen playing something, and asked, "Shouldn't someone be flying this thing?"

"No problem." Vorkof said. "If you give the plane enough love, she seems to fly herself easy."

Kana yawned again and eased herself onto Sam lap. "Was that supposed to be a joke or do you think I'm twelve?" she asked while Sam put a hand on her shoulder.

"See, I should have been talking to her the whole time." he laughed. "She can put up a good fight."

"Have at it." Sam said while leaned back in his chair and yawning while closing his eyes.

"So you want to sleep in one of the bunks?" Kana asked.

Sam shook his head. "No…no I'm good." he sighed in contentment. "This chair isn't half bad."

"So girly?"

"It's Kana." she said bluntly while leaning back against Sam.

"Ok, Kana then. What's your deal?"

"My deal?"

"Yeah. Your deal, you know?" How'd you end up with this guy? How'd you two really end up out her with us oddballs?"

"Well, I was assigned to be tutored by him. During our fist assignment…" she rubbed her arm back and forth while a slight red tint hinted on her face. "We grew….attached after a while."

"Yeah….I gathered that much." Vorkof said. "So, were you two compromised or something?"

"No…not exactly. Sam….well, lets just say when he gets angry, he forgets about everything and just goes at it…." she sighed. "It….it was pretty scary. I've never seen someone hurt someone like that on purpose, but I can't say I've never wanted to myself."

"So what? Hurt someone?"

"Yeah….I mean….some people out there are just….they just deserve it, you know?"

Vorkof turned away and looked out the black window. "Yeah, I do." he said. "That's why we're all here." He noticed her hand was still unconsciously rubbing her right forearm. "You had to ditch you blade, huh?"

She nodded with a sigh. "I feel really….weak…or something…without it. It's silly, but I feel vulnerable."

"I noticed that too since you keep rubbing your arms. Sam keeps flicking his wrists…even in his sleep."

Kana looked down and saw his fists clenching and releasing while he slept.

"When we land, we're meeting up with someone who can help you two out."

"Will we be able to get new hidden blades?" she asked.

"Yes….but not the traditional kind."

Sam's head turned to the side. "I heard…*yawn*…something about a blade?"

"Man….that's a weird thing to make you wake up." Vorkof said. "you must really be missing those things."

"You honestly have no idea." Sam said. "Am I jumping into the conversation at the wrong time."

"Nah. Like I said, I know a guy who can help." Vorkof liften up the bottom hem of his grey V-neck shirt, revealing a wide leather belt with a small metal assassin symbol belt buckle. "Check this out." he hooked his first two fingers comfortably through the buckle, and pulled. Out slid a small metal dagger about eight to ten inches long. The buckle doubled as the handle. "Kind cool, huh? These things have been around since the wild west days that Don talks about so much."

"Don?"

"Yeah, they guy who made this thing. The best part is, it's perfect for anywhere with a metal detector. If they tell you take your belt off, it's no problem! Hahaha!" he laughed. "This thing is perfect."

Sam sat up and lifted Kana up, then sat her back down in his lap once he had adjusted the seat. "I'll admit, it's not half bad, but I still prefer the traditional blade better."

Vorkof grunted. "Yeah…everyone does." he said, then pulled his left sleeve back. Around his wrist was a black elastic sleeve with black straps. He flicked his wrist, and a completely unreflective black blade sprung out of place. "It's a special hardened polymer coated in high density Kevlar. No metal pieces at all. Everything is completely fool proof." he said. "These things are damn expensive to make, so don't expect to be thrown one just like that. I had to earn this thing over the years."

"Whoa!" Sam leaned to the side, nearly knocking Kana off. "Now this….this is fucking Christmas present."

"Whoa there, kid." Vorkof retracted the blade and moved his jacket sleeve over the brace. "Don't get too excited."

"I didn't even know it was possible to make something like that." Kana said. "That's pretty cool."

Vorkof nodded. "Yeah, sure is. When we land, I'll have you two talk to an old friend of mine. He designs all this stuff. I think his best little toy, if I do say so, would have to be this thing." He tapped his sports watch on his right hand.

"What's that do?" she asked. "Is it a tazer?"

"No, but good idea." The metal border surround the face of the watch doubled as a grip. He pulled on it, and a razor wire unrolled from the side.

"Wow….that's kind of scary." she said.

Sam nodded appreciatively. "I completely forgot about those things." he said. "I wonder why their not standard issue."

"I thought the same thing." he said. "I use this more than anything else, come to think of it."

Sam leaned back in his chair again and yawned. "Okay, now I'm going to sleep. Thanks for showing us your toys."

"No problem." Vorkof yawned. "Actually, sleep sounds like a good idea." He got up from his pilot seat and said to Kana. "It's got satellite TV. Knock yourself out, ok?"

Vorkof chose the top bunk on the left side, and kicked his shoes off across the cabin of the plane. One of the shoes hit the light switch and the plane went dark.

Kana leaned against Sam again and rested her head on his shoulder. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the positioning, or the ambiance, or something. Something about the way her surroundings felt compelled her to sneak kiss from Sam. To her surprise, he kissed her back.

"I'm trying to sleep, you know.." he said.

She giggled. "Yeah…but I can't sleep unless I can-"

He cut her off with a rather passionate kiss of his own, and said in a low panting voice, "Neither can I."

They both went back to their rather odd timed but much needed moment of intimacy right after turning the volume up on the small TV device all the way to mask the noises they themselves were about to make.

-o0o-

On the terminal floors of San Francisco International Airport, the amount of people and personal was almost just as overwhelming back home. The diffrence was the odd mix of sounds and sights. Instead of all the signs in one language, all the signs had subscripts Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and a language Sam didn't recognize. Some of the stores and shops were in English, and others weren't. What felt like hundreds of different races filled the airport to the max. To his right, he could hear someone speaking German. To his left, he could hear someone speaking Vietnamese.

"Damn…." Sam said. "This is kind of creepy."

"I wonder if this is what the UN building feels like." Kana said.

"Look at all those poor unfortunate souls." Vorkof laughed. "All of them standing around the baggage claim…just waiting….for hours on end…"

"You done with your bloody rant?" Laura asked. "Lets get out of here. I haven't had anything to eat in ages."

While passing a few escalators and fast food restaurants, Sam asked, "So this is the City by the Bay, huh?"

"Not exactly. The San Francisco you've probably heard of is actually about eight to ten miles north of here. Technically, we're closer to Daly City."

"Is that where the guild is?"

Vorkof slung an arm around his shoulder and laughed. "Man…we just landed. Take a breather for a bit, would you? Lets go get a drink!"

"Um…" Sam slipped out from under him and said, "No thanks man….If it's all the same, I'd like to get my hands on…something I can carry."

"Ohhh." Vorkof nodded as he held the door open for Sam and the morning fog flooded their vision. The cold morning weather of the coast assaulted Sam's mostly bare arms. Usually, the tailored leather jacket he always wore provided just the right amount of warmth in the cold, and kept him cool enough when it was warm. With just a black t-shirt on, he realized just how much he missed that thing. Kana felt the cold as well. She wore a black long sleeve thin undershirt which did hardly any more for her than Sam's t-shirt would. The heavy gust of morning wind were almost painful.

Kana tugged on the back of his shirt and notice she was hugging herself and shivering. Sam wrapped an arm around her while Laura tried whistling down a taxi.

"Better?" he asked.

She smiled with a nod and rubbed up against him.

After a white and green car finally stopped, the four piled into the taxi. Laura spoke to the driver and said something about a Marriot hotel before pulling out. "We're not staying here in San Francisco." she said. "There is a guild here, but we don't use them. The brotherhood doesn't know our movements, and we'd rather keep it that way."

"Really? Don't you think it'd be best to utilize the resources we have?" Sam asked.

Vorkof shrugged. "If worse comes to worse, we will. For now, it's not a problem."

Laura pulled out her phone to make a call, meaning everyone else in the car had to remain silent. For the next few minutes, she barely spoke. Except for the occasional head nod and few small words, she rarely said anything.

"Okay. We're on our way. Prepare a kit." There was a pause in the conversation, "Yes, that's what I said. Prepare a kit." It was obvious Laura's request was not a popular idea on the other end. "This isn't a request. Prepare a kit." With that, she hung up.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

Laura shook her head as if the conversation went completely smoothly. "Not at all."

They pulled up to a luxurious but standard appearing hotel. They got out and Laura paid the driver. They followed her and Vorkof inside passed the reception desk to an elevator. While on the ride up, Vorkof asked, "Did we get a room with a mini fridge?"

"Shut up." Laura groaned.

They came to a room at the end of the hallway next to an ice machine. Instead of knocking, the door was open.

"Hey, Don!" Vorkof said, being the first to talk inside.

\

A man sat on the edge of the bed surrounded by numerous pieces of equipment just laying around. His face was covered in stubble and his eyes looked almost dead and bloodshot. He wore a tattered black and brown flannel shirt and a pair of dark washed boot cut jeans. If it wasn't for his slight wave and subtle acknowledgment, Sam probably would have assume he was drunk. "Hey…" he said in a husky and deep grunt. "You bring that kid?"

"Actually, we brought two." Laura said. "I'm not exactly sure why, but we did."

Don looked up from his work and looked over both Sam and Kana. He grunted, then went back to what was in his hand. "Nice to meet ya both." he said begrudgingly. "I'm sure you both have right pretty ass names, but I'd rather learn'em later."

"Nice guy, huh?" Vorkof nudged Sam. "Don't worry. He's a really talker when he's drunk."

"Wonderful…."

"I'm starved." Laura said, "The bloody restaurant downstairs better be bloody open this early in the morning. Anyone else coming?"

Vrokof nodded and walked towards the door.

"Sam, you mind if I leave you here?" Kana asked. "I haven't eaten since out bath at the onsen."

"Go ahead." he said. "bring me something back, would you?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "Okay. You got it."

Laura, Vorkof, and Kana left the room, leaving Sam alone with Don.

"You a rider?" Don asked. "I can tell by the way you stand."

Sam nodded. "You too, huh?"

"Pop a seat, kid." he said. "That English broad freakin insisted I give you this shit."

Sam sat on the edge of the other bed and asked, "What is all this?"

Don handed him a belt. "Know what this is?"

"Yeah." Sam used the buckle to pull the knife out.

"You ain't as dumb as you look." He handed him a watch. "Bet you don't know what-"

Sam took it and pulled out the wire.

"Son of a bitch…maybe it's true what they say about you asainese people."

"Vorkof showed me on the plane."

"Oh. That Russian bastard likes to run his mouth more than a Nebraska man talkin bout his freakin corn." he complained. Sam gave him a confused look. "Forgit it, kid."

Sam slung the belt around himself and strapped the watch on. "One thing I got to ask," he said. "You wouldn't happen to have a wrist action blade I could use."

Don sighed and reached behind his back. "This…" he held out what looked like a fingerless weightlifting glove with a black sheath attached to the top of the wrist behind the knuckles. "This is a smaller version of what you probably used."

Sam took it and fought the black glove on. "How does it work?"

"Squeeze your palm with your two middle fingers."

Sam complied, and a small, wide, flat blade about four inches long slid over his knuckles.

"It works better that those freakin old versions. You don't have to worry about stabbing yourself, and the detachable if you need to ditch it somewhere." Don pointed to a small round black button. "This here's the safety. If it's pull out, the blade won't engage."

"Wow….damn, you made all this stuff?" Sam asked while turning his wrist around to admire his new piece.

"Squeeze both sides of the button, and the blade ejects." Don said, sounding bored. "It works the same way as a razor blade handle."

"Hmm….."

"These designs aren't too complicated." he said. "If you need a replacement, let me know. Just don't shit on me and lose any of this stuff, got it kid?"

"Yeah…got it." Sam said.

"One more thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't you fucking dare fuck this up. Me, and that Russian nut, and that stuck up English broad….we're all working pro-bono for your sorry ass on this one. Now that you brought your little girlfriend with you, the least you can fuckin do is not get us all fuckin killed, comprende amigo?"

Sam backed up on the bed and nodded. "Yeah, not a problem…"

Don got up and arched his back until there were a few audible cracks. "I'm getting a bottle of Jack. Watch our shit." With that, he left, leaving Sam alone in the hotel room.

"_How the hell did things end up here like this?" _Sam thought. _"Kind of a rude asshole."_

There were still a bunch of stuff all over the bed, including some special clothes like a black hooded sweatshirt with red trim on the inseams and hood. "Don't mind if I do." Sam said while putting it on.

The jacket fit rather too well. The material fit rather snug, but the partially elastic material gave great range of movement, and added slack had been fitted into the long wide cuffs to give room for any assassin equipment concealed.

"You can hang on to that." Don said, holding a bottle of brown alcohol in the doorway and two small glasses. He set he glasses down and filled them up, then handed on to Sam. "Welcome to the Erased, kid. The assassin rejects no one wants to deal with. Cheers."

They both knocked back the liquid, and Sam started to cough hoarsely. "What the hell is that?"

"Whiskey." he said. "God…what the fuck is wrong with you? You sound like a pussy ass high school freshman."

Sam looked at him after hacking and rubbed his chest. "I'm not much a drinker."

Don laughed and sat down heavily in a chair next to the TV. "That'll change, kid. That'll fuckin change." He poured himself another shot and gulped it down. Sam threw his glass down with a thud.

"I'm going to get something to eat." he said and walked out. _"What an ass…" _he thought.

Downstairs, after talking to the concierge, Sam he found himself in what looked like an Italian restaurant inside the hotel. Sam spotted everyone else at table on the other side of the buffet counter and sat down.

"Hungry?" Vorkof asked. "The fettuccini isn't bad here."

"As long as it's food." Sam said. "Right now, I'm not even remotely picky."

"Here." Kana slid an empty plate over to him, and he picked it up.

He tousled her hair and said, "Thanks." before walking over the counter.

Unfortunately for the other customers, Sam's eating manners were almost nonexistent. Once he put something on his plate, he ate it. This included chicken, toast, some strange looking noodles that he didn't even try and taste, waffles without syrup, and some fruit slices. He came back to the table, but what was on his plate was already his second serving.

Laura watched him the whole time. "That was absolutely bloody disgusting." she said. "You truly are an ape."

"Or just someone hungry enough." he said. "Sorry about that."

Vorkof pointed to Sam and asked Kana, "Does he do that every time he eats?"

Kana looked up from her plate, a breadstick hanging out of her mouth. "Whaphh?" she asked with her mouth full, "I didthh notith anythith."

Sam broke the rest of the bread stick from her mouth and preceded to gorge himself.

"My god…" Laura sighed. "You two are bloody ridiculous."

Vorkof took a sip of something, then asked, "So, you get what you needed from Don?"

Sam couldn't talk, but he nodded, then swallowed his food. "Yeah. Almost everything."

"You missing something?"

"Doesn't Kana need something?" Sam asked.

Vorkof and Laura looked at each other. "Oh…I didn't think she'd be…actively participating." Laura said.

Sam put a hand on her head and said, "She's more capable than she looks. Trust me. I get the feeling I could use all the help I can get on this anyway." Kana, with a fork in her mouth, smiled at him and nodded to the other two across the table.

"Okay…." Vorkof sighed. "Don probably has something extra. I can't promise much though."

Sam and Kana went back to shoveling food in their mouths, but after a few minutes, stopped when they felt full and left. Niether of them had any American money on them, but Vorkof just whipped out a card and asked for the hotel to charge the room service to the card. "You two are probably going to need some cash." he said. "I'll get you two some prepaid debit cards soon. You'll have more than enough, just don't buy anything suspicious."

They all went back upstairs. Don's door was closed this time, but after agreeing to another couple of shots, Sam was able to acquire another hidden blade. That blade, he gave to Kana. She agreed it was quite an elegant design, but still felt it was a bit awkward. Two more adjacent rooms had been book in advance next to Don's, so Sam and Kana were more than happy to take one of the rooms off their hands.

"You didn't have to do that just for this." she said, sitting on the hotel room bed. "Thank you, Sam….but I don't want you to have to hurt yourself."

Sam had taken the liberty to throw up in the bathroom. Fortunately, complimentary toothbrushes and toothpaste saved him from the aftertaste. After cashing his face, he came out and flung himself on the bed. The broken sleep and jetlag from the night before had started to taken its toll. "Ugh…." he groaned, "Trust me….it's just easier this way." He looked at the clock inbetween the beds. "7:20.….I guess I could sleep til noon." he said. "Yeah….yeah some sleep…"

"Are you ok?" she asked. "Here…let me help you with your shoes." His riding boots came off while he squirmed on the bed to get his jacket off. "You want something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm fine." he said, sitting up. "Actually, you need anything?" he asked. "it's kind of weird being the one doted on and not the other way around."

She smiled and crawled next to him on the bed. "I feel great, actually…." she said.

He looked at her with a perplexed expression. "Really?"

She nodded. "Mhm….I do. For some reason, I feel great."

"Well….uh…that's good." he said. "I'm glad."

"It's just….no matter where we go….as long as you're there, I just can't bring myself to worry." she yawned while laying her head down on his lap. "Weird…huh…"

Sam flung himself back on the bed and sighed. "So, you're just going to leave all the worry to me?"

"Just…just for now." she said while sitting up. "Is that bad?"

Sam sat up and hugged her. "That's just fine." he said. "I'm glad to do it."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks…"

Sam's eyes were closed, and she assumed he was trying to kiss her back, but his head was actually moving backwards. Instead of receiving an embrace, she watched him fall back and fall asleep well before his head hit the pillow. Giving up on anything more, she slowly laid down beside him and snuggled up next to his shoulder.

"Noon…" she yawned. "Noon sounds good..."

* * *

Well, this story is really taking on a much broader and longer expanse than I could have ever guessed when i first started writing this. I have more fun each time I write, and I hope you the reader have more fun each chapter you read. See you next time.


	13. One Long Day

I woke up early this morning with nothing to do yet and figured, hey why don't I write some more. This has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written, and for that, I'm glad. This passed week I have written more words and chapters than I ever have before. It feels almost liberating. Thank you very much for the reviews. I'm glad I could entertain and keep people intrigued.

I own no rights to Assassin's Creed, GM, Holiday Inn, or any other brand name product or service I mention.

* * *

Chapter 13

There was a knock on the door. A rather harsh and thudding knock that broke Sam uncomfortably from his sleep. His body instinctively jolted, which woke Kana.

"What's wrong?" she asked, wiping her eyes. "It's not even nine yet."

Sam got up and pulled his shirt over his head. As always, he kept all weapons on even during sleep as a precaution. "Who is it?" he asked.

"Are you seriously sleeping you idget?" A husky voice from the other side asked. "Get up. I'm taking you somewhere."

Sam opened the door. In front of him stood Don, but this time wearing a worn stetson cowboy hat and a weather beaten tan leather jacket. "Don, I honestly do need the sleep."

"Before you start to argue, grab your jacket and put on your boots."

"Hang on. I just-"

"This ain't up for debate, kid." he said, "Get dressed. I expect to see you outside this door in less than one freakin minute."

Sam complied and got dressed. "When will you be back?" Kana asked.

Don peaked his head through the door and said, "By lunch time little miss. Lets go sunshine."

Sam kissed her on the forehead, then closed the door behind him. While he zipped up his sweater and adjusted his wrist straps, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"I'll let you know when we get there."

"Man…you sure like yanking my chain around, huh." Sam groaned. His eyes felt bloodshot and agitated, but some life was returning to him.

Down in the parking garage of the hotel on the first floor were a bunch of motorcycles parked in various places. "Which one do you like?" Don asked.

"Wait…are we stealing these?"

"No, I just wanted to see if you'd be that big of an idget and actually try." he said. "I rented a car. It's outside on the curb."

They walked out, Sam's scowl now cranked up a notch, and got into a rented white American car. Don wasn't much for talking while driving. As the minutes dragged on in the late morning traffic, Sam felt less and less sure of this man.

"Can you see that in the distance?" Don asked.

Sam looked out the window and pointed to a massive bridge. "That?"

"No not the Bay Bridge, idget. You do know this isn't a freakin tourist getaway, right?" Don sounded annoyed. "I mean that warehouse on the wharf over there."

"The one that says KnB food distribution?" Sam asked. "Hey….I've seen those back home."

"Not surprised." he said. "Although, you might have wanted to check'em out sooner."

"Why's that?"

"You'll see." Don took the next exit ramp and entered a low near sea level street running parallel to the ocean. Instead of pulling into the warehouse, he drove passed and parked under a bridge out of sight.

"Why are we here?" Sam asked. "I'm getting tired of asking all these questions."

"Come on." Don got out of the car and leaned against the inside of the bridge. "We need to get on that truck." He pointed to a truck driving up down the road with the same name and labeling as the warehouse.

"But why?….You know what? Never mind. Forget I asked. Lets just hijack that truck."

Don slapped his shoulder and smirked. "That's the spirit, kid! Now, you go jump in front of the truck."

"What? No, wait!"

Too late. Don gave him a solid push, sending Sam tumbling down on the road in front. The truck barely skidded to a halt in front of him. The driver and passenger both got out and started screaming.

"What the fuck, asshole!" the driver screamed.

The passenger grabbed a crowbar and started walking towards him. "You got some fuckin nerve you fuckin douche-"

Sam instinctually stood up as fast as he could and got ready for a fight. His posture unintentionally gave off the wrong impression, and the two men charged him. The passenger tried to swing the crowbar, but Sam caught his wrist and disarmed him by breaking his elbow. Now that the crowbar was in his hands, Sam swung low and knocked the man holding his elbow on his back by sweeping out his feet. The driver pulled out a gun, but sam threw the crowbar at his head before he could aim. The bullet went wild high into the sky, giving Sam the golden opportunity to swing himself over the hood of the truck and land with his blade through the man's neck on the ground.

"Nice work, kid." Don said as he walked out of the shadow. "Watch the blood. We gotta use these uniforms."

"Wait!" Sam reeled up and shouted, "You fucking planned this?"

"Course I did, idget." he laughed. "You think I was tryin to kill ya?"

Sam shrugged and sheathed the blade back behind his wrist. "That hard to believe?" he asked.

"Would you just play dress up with and throw them in the back, drama queen?…Damn you whine like a bitch." Don laughed while pulling the shoes off the passenger and throwing over his shoulder.

"You're a really nasty piece of work, you know that?"

-o0o-

Once they got on their disguises and drove the truck passed the front gate, Don got out and told Sam to follow him. Sam was going to ask why there were so many guards at the front gate, but after seeing a man walk out the front office wearing a small red templar pin on his lapel, a lot of his questions were answered.

As they walked passed more trucks, Don said, "Don't make eye contact with anyone." he said. "I didn't plan this far ahead."

"Awesome…" Sam sighed. "So…what is this place? What do the templars keep here?"

"Shhhh."

A loading dock by the parked trucks were open, and every other second, people were walking in and out with boxes in their hands. The boxes were piled by the open back of one of the eighteen wheelers.

"Grab a box and follow me."

Sam did as he was told and walked passed some people taking a break smoking cigarettes. "Morning." he said.

The people smoking nodded to him and went back to their inane conversations involving fickle women and odd pieces of media.

The rest of the boxes were being taken to what appeared to be an incinerator. Sam could see what looked like a massive furnace in front of him, and people were throwing the boxes into funny looking train cars that drove in and out of the furnace below.

"You know what's in these boxes?" Sam asked.

Don whispered back, "Body parts."

Sam gulped an unpleasant aftertaste of something coming back up. _"I've been…..carrying body parts this whole time?" _"Wait, do the other workers know about this?"

"No, they don't." he said. "They don't ask questions either. They just unload the trucks, get paid fairly well of two hours of work, then go dick around like the lifeless shits they are. Hurry, throw the box in here and follow me."

They ditched the boxes in one of the small railed cars and sneaked through a door on the side wall. Inside was completely dark, until a light came on, flooding the massive room which as filled with a huge pile of clothes and personal affects.

"Holy shit…." Sam said. "Is this a…..concentration camp?"

"Sure the fuck is, man." Don said.

"But….but….why!"

Don sighed. "The templars have grown increasingly resourceful. Have you noticed?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah…even their grunts use a lot of tier 1 equipment."

"Well, this is where they get all that money."

"I don't understand." Sam said. "I thought they used pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries to fund their operations."

"The economy has taken a hit, kid, incase you haven't noticed." Don explained. "One of the biggest cash cows right now is freakin human trafficking. Well, what happens when the owners don't want their merchandise anymore? They send them here. The fuckin cunt shit templars take care of the discarded people in there own special way. I learned about this place from a contact who noticed your case and followed a few potential trails of some of the missing kids you were supposed to find."

"Shit…..I knew they were ruthless…..but this is just too much…." Sam clutched his chest and felt like he was going to throw up. "I can't believe this. Why did you take me here?! What was the point of all this!?"

"The point was to show you why we fight this fight." Don said. "Sometimes an assassin gets wrapped up in the hunt and forgets why he hunts in the first place." He pointed to the piles in the room. "This is why we cannot forget and lose our way!"

"So we came all the way out here just so you can reinforce the creed on me?" Sam asked. "What the hell! I know my way! I don't need any prodding from anyone!"

"Good." he said. "Good, cause I also came to collect something. I needed someone's help, and to honest, I wasn't sure if I could freakin trust you."

"You were testing me?"

Don nodded. "Sorry kid, but we don't just let anyone into our company. Not even an assassin from birth who's been in the brotherhood all his life can be trusted at first."

"My god…..you could have just fucking asked me you asshole. I didn't need to see this."

"Yes, Sam! Yes you did! The moment I laid eyes on you and your little girlfriend I knew you were soft as a god damn pillow! You needed to fuckin see this!"

Sam felt like swinging at him and lash out with every move he had learned, but restrained himself. He wasn't the enemy here, and that he had to save for the ones who really deserved it. "Can we get out of here?"

Don opened the door and Sam led the way in a hurry out to the loading dock of the parked trucks. "You okay kid?" Don asked.

Sam rubbed his eyes with his fingers and fought back an angry tear. "Yeah…..yeah…..I just, just want to kill them all right now."

"Good." Don said. "Good. That anger keeps us going out here when nothing else does. Can you walk or do you still feel nauseas?"

"I'm fine…Just….uh…were not going to leave here without doing nothing, are we?"

"Well, why the fuck not?"

-o0o-

Sam and Don snuck back to their car by driving the truck back to the underpass where they stashed the car. Don threw the two knocked out bodies back onto the road after dressing them back up in their clothes. After spray painting the words, "BABY KILLER" on the side of the truck and lighting the top on fire, Don got back in the car and together they both drove away.

Just before they left, Don threw a cell phone out of the car after dialing 911, and left it there ringing in the street.

"The police will find the truck and start an investigation into the company." he said. "Sometimes, some battles are won by sitting back and letting local authority put together a few pieces themselves."

Sam leaned against the window of the car and sighed. "Yeah…makes sense."

"Sorry about all that." he said. "I wasn't trying to give you a hard time cause I wanna see you cut loose or anything…"

"I know…..can we just…not talk about any of it right now?"

Don nodded and kept silent while focusing his eyes on the road. They both kept silent until they hit traffic again on one of the major roads.

"Need a cigarette or something?"

Sam sat up and sighed while reaching into his pocket for a piece of gum he started chewing and said, "I'm good."

"Smart thinking, kid." Don said while rolling down a window and pulling a pack out of his pocket. "These things can kill ya."

-o0o-

Sam made it back to the hotel and spat his gum out before getting in the elevator. All he wanted to do was sleep and cry, and not necessarily in that order, but he knew tears were very unbecoming of an assassin. One of the first things he learned was to stand the pain and stop the waterworks no matter if it was the body or the heart that hurt.

The door opened, and he staggered out like drunk. His feet shuffled on the floor and he rubbed his tired eyes while ambling his way down the hallway. He knocked on the hotel door, and Kana answered within seconds.

"Oh, you're back. Good." she said. "I was about to go ask Laura what happened to you. Are you okay? You look more tired than before. Why don't you just sit here," she led him to the bed and he sat in a daze. "…and I'll get you some water." Before she could walk away, he stopped her and grabbed her hand. "Sa-"

Not even a single word could escape her mouth. In a split second, her lips were forcefully pressed against his way too hard. She had to push against him just to gasp for air. The surprise came fast, but the strange excitement followed just a quick. This time, she pressed against him, and their arms surrounded each other. Slowly, she could feel herself flip onto her back as Sam pulled away above her. The strangest surprise of all was the feeling of wet droplets falling on her cheeks. He was actually crying and all force in his movement had completely died. Instead of embracing her and continuing, he started trembling and slowly laid down beside her with his buried in her slim shoulder.

"It….it was…..awful…" he whimpered.

Kana stroked his head and kissed his forehead. "Shh….don't say anything." she said. "Just lay down and relax….I'll take care of you."

He didn't respond, but just slipped out of most of his clothes before laying down with his face in the pillow. Kana just sat down on the adjacent bed and stared at him. Usually, she was the timid and shy one who occasionally needed comfort from him, not the other way around. _"Sam….what happened?" _she thought to herself while running her small fingers up and down his bare back. _"This feels really weird….being the one tell you to relax…."_

Something that really scared her was her failing sense of security. Sam was usually very strong, decisive, and independent. She felt that in any and every situation, she could count on him to make the best call. For the first time since she had met him, she saw how broken and shut down he could become. This scared her more than staring down a gun. The biggest part of her life, and the closest thing to her heart had reached a critical low point on her.

"I don't know what happened…..but everything is fine, alright?" she said while kneeling on the floor and slinging her arms over him. "You feel like talking about it?"

He slowly rolled over onto his back and wiped his eyes with his forearm. "Don…that guy….he showed me something….just to prove a point."

"What was it? Why?"

Sam slowly sat up and took her hand in his. "Something big." he said. "It was just something…..big. He wanted to test my loyalty."

"Really?" she asked. "That's kind of low."

He nodded vigorously. "Yeah…I just….right now…I'm really freaked out or something."

Kana placed herself next to him on the edge of the bed and said, "You don't have to tell me what it was, but you do need to tell me if you're ok or not. You look…..look awful. Please…tell me if there's anything I can do. I'll go out and bug one of the others if you need it."

"No. No it's fine. Really." he said emphatically. "I just need a few moments. All that's happened recently…..well, it's really wearing on me. I've honestly never been this scared before."

"Me too…" Kana sighed while wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his. "…but as long as you're still here next to me, that's all I really care about."

Sam turned to face her eye to eye. "Kana, I have a very serious question for you."

"What is it?"

"Are you…..are you in this because of just me, or are you still here to fight?"

Kana looked away and sighed. "Sam…..I do want to fight….I do want to help change the world….I grew up seeing horrible injustices and I've always wanted to fight…..but I'd be lying if I said that was the main reason."

Sam put a finger under her chin and lifted her head. "I'd be lying if I didn't agree completely."

Kana eyes closed and her voice trembled. "Sam….I need to know…..do you….do you love me?"

"What? Why would you even have to ask?"

She looked down with a disappointed expression "Well….it's not like…well, you've never actually said it. I've always wondered…..I don't think I can keep doing this unless…unless I know."

"You have to be joking, right?" he asked. "This whole time you honestly thought I didn't?"

"Well how could I know?" she lashed back, leaving Sam stunned by her first and only direct shown of anger towards him. "You never told me, and I've been waiting this whole time!"

Sam backed away, and this time his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "I'm….sorry…." was all he could manage to say.

Kana started to cry now, and brought an arm up to futilely hide the tears. "You think…*sniff*…that all this happening hasn't been hard on me either? *sniff* I've been more worried than I've ever been in my life over what's going to happen to you! And then you tell me I should stay behind and leave you!? How could you say something like that!" She stood and started walking fast towards the hotel room door, but Sam jumped up and snatched her up in the air with one arm under her knees and one arm under her shoulders. He gently but firmly kissed her, and she tried to push away. However, there was no real force behind her push, and she gave into the kiss within seconds as her arms moved up around his neck.

Sam broke the kiss and said directly into her ear, "Kana….remember that day I came back to the shop and you offered me a part of the bed?"

She nodded, remembering how childishly embarrassed she felt and the tears came rushing back.

"I woke up the next morning with your arm around me…..and you looked more beautiful at that moment than anything I had ever seen in my life."

The hot air by her ear that formed those words made her chest feel hot and tight.

"At that moment….I fell in love with you." He said in almost a whisper. "I don't know why or how….but I felt like I needed to protect you from there on."

"Oh…Sam…" She cried softly, "*sniff* You're the worst…."

Sam hugged her in the air as tight as she could. The pressure hurt a little, but she enjoyed the contact more than her heart could measure. "If I didn't say it then, then I'm saying it now." he whispered. "Kana, I love you. You are the very first and only person I have ever loved."

"You still suck." she said while burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing. "I…*sob*….love you too, Sam."

He smiled and sat down on the bed, still holding her in his arms. "I'm really sorry….I had no idea."

"I read the report…*sniff*…at the onsen." she sniffled. "You were blacklisted, and I was so scared….I forgot how to move for almost a minute."

"Is this why you've been really affectionate lately?" he asked. "I've been wondering why you've clung on to me so much passed day or so."

"Is that bad?" she asked. "I can stop *sniff* if you want."

"No…Please don't." He rubbed his cheek against her soft grey hair. "I needed it more than you would know."

"I..uh…..I have to say, never really felt close to anyone…until I met you." she said, then looked at him with red and tearful eyes. "It's kind of dumb looking back on it, but I never knew having someone close was possible for someone like us."

"I felt the same way,…until….until the day you came to my door…all wet and soaked from the rain." he said, wiping her face with his thumb.

She giggled for a second and sniffled. "Yeah, I remember that. I remember thinking how much younger and…hehe…*sniff*…cuter you looked at the door…..and how weird you were. Not at all what I expected."

"Neither were you." he laughed softly. "But I'm glad I got you instead of someone else."

She looked up and pecked him on the cheek. "Me too." she said, then rubbed her face against his neck.

-o0o-

Vorkof stood outside Sam and Kana's door. Earlier, he was about to knock, but decided he'd better not when he heard shouting. With his ear pressed against the door, he was able to hear everything. On one instance, he had shed an unnoticed tear during the ordeal.

Laura stepped out of the room the shared and asked, "What's taking so bloody long?"

"Shhh…" he put a finger up to his mouth and walked back to their door. "I'll knock later."

"Oh my god." she gasped, "They aren't playing two's company in there are they?"

"No, not that." he said. "It's just a heart to heart."

Laura's face showed her deliberation. In her mind, it didn't seem important enough to care about. "Bloody hell….just knock or I will."

"You really are heartless, aren't you." he said. "Why don't you just go back to sleep and leave these two alone. They're probably tired."

"You're the only one who doesn't seem to have jetlag problems." she said.

"I'm a pilot." he said. "You really that surprised?"

"Hell with it." she gave up. "I'm taking your pillows. If you have a problem with it, then get yourself your own bloody room. I don't know why in hell you insisted on sharing." She closed the door, leaving him alone in the hallway again.

Vorkof started walking back to his room and said, "Thank me later, kids."

-o0o-

They both took a few deep breaths and sighed. Kana slowly slid off his lap and they both sat leaning against the bed, emotionally drained.

"It's a little passed noon. You want to get a little something to eat?" Sam asked.

Kana nodded, and they stood to leave. Before going downstairs, Sam knocked on Laura and Vorkof's door.

"Hello?"

"It's Sam."

Laura opened the door and said, "Bout bloody time you two got up. Get in here. We have some things to go over."

Sam and Kana decided to just leave it at that and they stepped inside. Vorkof and Laura had obviously set up a table and a few chairs in the center of the room earlier in anticipation of some meeting. They all sat in various spots all facing one another.

"What's going on?"

"It appears we are visiting the guild." Vorkof said. "I wasn't counting on it, but there are some things we do need."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"An untraceable car….new attire….you're probably going to want a bike, right?"

"Yeah." He had to admit, it was true. "How'd you know I ride bikes?"

"We read your profile. Seems like you know a couple things about them." Laura sighed as if bored. "Were going to need some disposable income and fake IDs too."

"Where exactly is the guild?" Kana asked.

Laura looked at a map on the table, and said, "The closest one we can get everything at is across the Bay Bridge in Oakland."

"When do we leave?" Sam asked. "Mind if we get something to eat first?"

Vorkof got up and flopped on one of the beds before tossing Sam the phone. "I think the phrase goes, 'knock yourself out'."

-o0o-

The worst thing about going to a new city is the complete lack of perspective. It's almost impossible to gauge just how big or wide the new surroundings are. Having spent most of his life in Kyoto, Sam knew that massive and confusing city better than the cops. Every little alley, road, station, bridge, and any other possible shortcuts were at his disposal night and day. Unfortunately, the best ways to get around in San Francisco was by taxi, which included sitting in traffic much long than he had the patience for. The only saving grace of the entire ordeal was the light sleep.

Kana leaned against his shoulder in the back seat with Sam's head resting on top of hers. Earlier, Vorkof and Laura decided to share and taxi and let Sam and Kana take their own. As long as the driver knew the address, it was smooth sailing.

A bump on the road woke Sam in a groggy daze, but left Kana slumbering as sound as a bear in hibernation. _"Damn…my head hurts.."_ he thought.

"You don't look like you're from round here." the driver said. "Visiting relatives?"

Sam looked at the back of his head with perplexity. "Um…yeah…" he said. "Why do you ask?"

"What do you mean?" the driver asked. "This used to be a people business., you know."

"Uh….sorry." Sam rubbed his head. "I'm tired."

"Jetlag?"

"Yeah…something like that."

"That sucks, kid." he said. "You know what helps? Caffeinated chamomile tea. Not sure how, but the upper and relaxed feel you get from it balances everything out. This architecture from Dallas told me about it."

"No kidding…" Sam said. "I'll try that when I get the chance."

They ran over another bump, and Kana head hit his collar bone hard enough to wake her up. She sat up and rubbed her temple. "Ow…" she moaned.

"You alright?" he asked, "Was it that hard?"

"No…it's not that." she said. "I have a headache behind my eyes…."

"Big changes in altitude will do that." the driver said. "If you rest your hand on you head for a few minutes, it goes away. Australian guy told me that once."

Kana looked at Sam with a confused expression and pointed at the driver as if to say, "Why is he telling us this?" Sam just shrugged. The next few minutes, they listened in silence to the driver droning on about other traveling pains and aches including the remedies and ailments. It was obvious he had been a taxi driver for quite some time, but the incessant talking was killing Sam. Even after living in such a big and noisy city for so long, darkness and quite calm had never been too far. This city felt different somehow, and definitely not like home.

They finally stopped in front a large auto body and auto repair shop including two large garages with a car lot in-between all fenced in off the highway. As they got out and paid the driver, Sam saw Vorkof and Laura doing the exact same thing a few meters down the road.

"You need some money to pay the driver?" Laura asked.

Sam shook his head. "Nah I uh…I got it." he said as the driver pulled away from the curb. "I found a fifty under the seat and said to keep the change. So, what really is this place? Weapon supplier?"

Vorkof laughed. "No, this really is a auto shop." he said. "Come on, let's meet an old man."

Inside under a raised up Chevy truck, an old man with a massive scruffy beard and a cigarette in his mouth emerged in coveralls covered in oil and grease. Sam thought it was ironic, and not to mention dangerous that he was smoking at the same time.

"You run this place?" Laura asked.

The old burly man laughed. "Sure do, miss. Don't tell me such a sweetheart like you came to ask me for a night of fun." He said in a hoarse and croaky voice.

"Just show us the store room, you old piece of vulture bait. There's a little lady present." Vorkof groaned, and pointed to Kana. The old man's attention turned to her and he smiled. This made Sam step a few inches in front of her and clench his fists.

"Oh….you must be a Don's friends." he said. "He came by earlier and told me to open up the back end. Just follow me."

They walked passed a few people wearing welding masks with their hands under and in the different vehicles all dismantled to different degrees. Sparks flew everywhere and the loud noises of power tools and grinders filled the massive garage.

One person in coveralls started screaming at no one in particular for a monkey wrench. Since no one else seemed to be paying attention, Sam walked over and rummaged for one inside a nearby tool box. Once he handed the man the tool, the mechanic grumbled, "Great response time, asshole. In hope your slow ass doesn't plan on being a fucking EMT one of these days."

"You have such a lovely crew here." Laura said.

The old man waved to door behind a jack, and said, "They blow more balls than the hooker in Excelsior, but they get shit done. Have at anything you see in there kiddies. Now, if you don't mind, I have better things to do than baby-sit you little weasels."

He left and Vorkof opened the door to let everyone in.

"What a fucking prick." Sam said. "Those Americans don't know how crude they are."

Laura sighed and flicked on a light switch by the door. "You get used to those bloody yanks after a while."

Vorkof stood in the middle of the room, which was just big enough to store four cars in a box formation wheel to wheel. Tables full of different pieces of equipment filled the room, and the walls were littered with guns, tactical and urban style clothing, and even a small area set aside full of nails with keys hanging off almost each one. "**святейшее дерьмо! **(Holy shit!)" Vorkof exclaimed. "This place has everything!"

"Damn….we should have come here sooner." Sam said and looked around. "Doesn't look like there are any hidden blades, though."

"Don't you have one?" Kana asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, but it's just odd, don't you think?"

"If someone raided this room and found any, they'd know it was us." Laura said. "We only distribute those in person."

"Makes sense." Sam said while pulling a leather assassin jacket off the wall. This one, unlike his original, didn't have a hood. Fortunately the hoodie he wore underneath had a perfect black and red pointed hood to go with it. "Nice.." he said. "This is what I've been missing."

"You like those things?" Vorkof asked while stuffing a couple MPSK and Vector SMGs into a black bag. "You really are a biker" Everyone looked at him blankly. "What? Guns can't hurt, can they? It's not like they won't be helpful."

Laura shook her head and sighed, then picked up a set of keys. "Oh good, they're here." She walked over to one table and picked up four ID cards.

Sam took a card with his picture on it, and asked, "What's this? Where did you get my picture?"

"It's you're driver's license. As for where the picture came from, I honestly have no bloody idea. Just take it and leave it at that."

Everyone grabbed their new licenses, preloaded debit cards, some encoded cell phones, then went back to grabbing their own personal pieces of equipment.

Sam picked up a pair of black riding boots and slipped then on under his grey slim jeans. Something under his big toes felt funny, and he pressed down. Two short three inch blades extended from the toe. "Damn….this is…awesome…" he whispered.

"Sam, could…uh…you help me with something?" Kana asked. She could reach something above her on the wall.

He walked over and brought what looked like a very thin red hair clip down to her level and handed it to her. "There's got to be something to this." he said. As it turned out, a small two inch blade flicked out like a tiny little buck knife.

"Can you help me put it in?" she asked.

He smiled. "Sure, just hold still." After swiping her bangs to the side in a wave and loosely clipping the hair down, he stepped back. Her forehead was now visible and the contrast between her hazel green eyes and grey hair emanated more. "Wow….that looks…."

Vorkof walked over and knelt down to look over the hair piece. "That's just scary." he said. "Isn't this a bit too much?"

"I don't think that's a hair clip." Laura said.

Sam looked at her soft white face and patted her on the head. "It is now." he said. "You look really cute for someone with a knife in their hair."

"Really?" she asked. "Thanks…I guess."

"My god…" Laura sighed, slinging a bag over her shoulder filled to its limit. "If you two busy bees are bloody finished mentally shagging one another, then lets go."

"And I thought Americans were rude." Vorkof snorted. "Can't you just admit the little lady looks adorable."

"You're all bloody idiots." she said while walking out. "And, for the record, you bloody Russians can be worse."

Vorkof smiled at the two of them while walking out. "Don't mind her too much. She hasn't been laid since people still played solitaire on their computers."

Something caught Sam's eye. All the sets of keys hanging were probably all to cars, since they all had some sort of GM brand label on them, but a few keys at the bottom provided a great deal of interest. He skipped over the one or two motorcycle keys and stared at a really old one off a hook. Instead of a new looking emblem, the key looked old and used, with a rusting metal mustang emblem on the front. "Yeah, I'm taking this." he said emphatically and stuffed the key into his pocket.

"Looks like you found a couple of things you like." Kana giggled.

"Yeah…sure did." he said. "You find everything you want to take?"

She nodded. "I'm not expecting to be much help on this, so the blade and the hair clip should be enough."

Sam walked over to the other end of the room and picked up a watch. "Take this." he said. "It couldn't hurt."

She took it and played around with it. "Oh…wow…a razor wire. I wonder if you could use it as a grappling wire too."

"That's an interesting idea." he said. "I hadn't thought of that. You're a lot more helpful than you give yourself credit for."

"Glad I could help." she said happily while having her hair tousled around.

All around the room, all the clothes he saw were too big for her except a small thin black zip up sweatshirt. There were no label on it at all except for black stitching of the assassin symbol barely visible on the back and on the point of the hood. This was probably for a young child still in training, but it fit her form perfectly.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded and made a fist. "Yeah. Let's do this."

"…_.and get it over with."_ Sam thought while walking out. After wandering the shop for about half a minute, he found the old disgusting owner of the shop and asked, "Where's the bike to this key?" he held up the key.

"In the lot out back under a white canvas tarp. That's where all the other cars are too. You know how to drive a stick kid? Yeah, I bet you do. Just lookin at you makes me wonder."

Sam didn't bother answering and walked away towards the back door. Outside, rusty car parts covered the ground. Nothing seemed to be organized or sorted, just thrown out on the ground. Behind the piles of crap finally stood a couple of cars under some tarps. One of the tarps had been removed from a restored green Plymouth from the 70s. Laura and Vorkof had opened the trunk and dumped everything inside. Laura had gotten into the front seat and started the car. "Meet us in LA. Just take interstate 5 south. You can't miss it, but it might take an overnight stay somewhere before you get there. Call me when you get into town. I'll text you the address of a safehouse."

Vorkof slid into the passenger seat as the load idling engine sputtered its heavy rumbling out the exhaust. "Don't forget! Drive on the right side of the road!" he yelled out just in time before the car drove off out into the street.

Sam grabbed the white tarp of one of the cars and gave it a solid yank. Underneath was a restored, shiny four door mustang cobra. These old muscle cars he had heard of before in passing jokes on the street about Americans and the growing gas crisis, but an actual one was awing just to see.

"Wow…" Kana said. "You're really going to drive this?"

"Oh….there's no question about it." he said. "I gotta know what this feels like."

"You know how to drive this car?" she asked. "I've never seen you actually drive one before, and I think this one is manual."

He opened the door and got in, and she followed his lead and sat down in the passenger seat. "Yeah, your right." he said while turning the key from his pocket. The car started up and both of them could feel the power through the seats and the roar in their ears. There was no clutch pedal, but the steering wheel had an aftermarket paddle shifter. "The gear shift has got to be ornamental." he said. "Looks like some serious work went into this thing."

She nodded. "Yeah…there's even a GPS and stereo in the dash. Are they really going to just let you drive off with this?"

Sam started to pull forward and smiled as he felt the tired touch tar off the curb and the engine rev slightly. "Apparently." he laughed. "Ah man!…this thing is awesome."

"I'm glad your having fun." she said. "Just don't get carried away on the highway."

* * *

I hope I can update soon, but I get the feeling it may not be possible. Let's hope not. I'd love to get back to this every day if I could. PLease leave your thoughts with me. I appreciated them very much. They help keep the mental ball in my head moving.


	14. Can't Take Anymore

Well, here's the next update. Another long one. Thank you readers for your words and support. I'm beginning to rely heavily on your opinions. They help greatly.

Assassin's Creed belong solely to its owners and creaters.

* * *

Chapter 14

In the bay area on the west coast, the ocean and its currents keep the weather nice and cool around seventy degrees during the summer, but as the Sam drove farther south, the weather quickly heated up, reaching well over ninety.

At first, all he could do was strip down to just his pants, seeing as how the cast steel metal frame painted black almost made the car an oven. His jacket and t shirt he threw in the backseat next to Kana's sweater. The car had a lot of buttons on the dash next to the stearo, but nothing was labeled. After flipping a few switches, Sam found one that opened an air intake valve below the fender that cooled the engine, thus lowering the heat a few degrees. Finally, after fishing through every little knob and blinking switch, a blast of cold air filled the cabin of the car like a sudden tornado, provided two sighs of relief and gratitude. Normally, most cars would suffer from a lack of throttle on the engine, but with the black aftermarket car he drove, that was absolutely not a problem. In a passing trivial thought, it occurred to him that the car probably wasn't street legal to begin with.

"Ahhhhh…" Kana sighed with a wide smile on her face. "That is sooo much better."

Sam laughed. "Yeah… no kidding…..now that I think about it, I wish we took bikes, but at least if it starts raining…"

"They grow a lot of peaches out here." she said, gazing out the window.

"Yeah…" he said. "Kind of ironic…."

"How?" she asked.

"You know…..a lot of vegetables and fruits are grown out here, but most of the produce is exported. Considering all the fruit around them, Americans would rather eat Mr. Donut or something." he said.

"That's…kind of random." she said. "You know something? I've never been on a long drive like this before. This state is really huge."

"I think Japan and California are almost the same size." he said. "I've never had to do this much driving either. It's…..really wearing on me."

"You wanna stop soon?"

"Sure. As soon as we get to a gas station."

"Are we out of gas?"

"I don't know. There's no gas meter in this thing." he said. "Looks like the whole dash replaced with a racing readout. I'm guessing this car wasn't meant for a long drive like this."

"Yeah…and the gas mileage has got to suck….now I'm getting a little worried we're going to stall out here."

"Nah, we'll be fine." he said. "If that happens, we'll figure something out."

"To bad we couldn't fly…"

The scenery changed time after time as a couple of hours went by, until they came to a more wooded area of California full of trees and small trucker towns. After pulling into a rest stop next to a Chevron, Sam filled out the car and bought three gas cans. With those filled, a need to stop again for gas probably wouldn't be necessary.

Another thing about driving a long way is the crappy road food at convenience stores along the way. Even the roadside diners and locally owned restaurants by the miles of corn rows had some shady things on the menu.

Around seven in the evening, they decided to stop at a fairly well kept looking diner. Most people inside were sitting at the counter drinking coffee and eating steak. The stale stench of day old cigarette smoke lingered in the air, probably from the waitress lighting up every hour next to the register. The only thing Sam trusted on the menu that wouldn't be tainted was an egg white omelet and a salad. Neither of the two tasted right, but that couldn't be helped.

Another thing that didn't help was the fact that the diner didn't take debit or credit, so for the first time in his life, and probably Kana's too, they had to dine and dash right in the open like idiotic delinquents. The fat owner with a cheap cigar in his mouth waddled out the front door with a shotgun in his hand as Sam and Kana stood outside.

Sam unhooked the wire from his watch and whirled it around, then released the ring like a sling shot. The wire wrapped around the barrel of the gun tight, and Sam yanked the weapon out of the man's hand. The wire reeled back, and the shotgun retracted to his hand.

"Everyone calm down!" he shouted. "Sorry, but I don't have time to sort this out. I need to go. Everyone just go back inside, and I won't have to use this thing!" Normally, he wouldn't be so stand out and violent, but all the bikers and truck drivers that had come outside were all probably carrying small pistols themselves, so this was probably the best option.

Kana started the car and Sam sat in the passenger seat, barrel of the gun sticking out of the window. Once they rounded the corner back onto the highway, Sam threw the shotgun off the road and leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "You going to be able to drive?" he asked.

She nodded with hesitation. Her visual horizon was barely high enough to see the road and her feet barely reached the pedals. "Actually, you should probably drive."

They pulled over and switched spots. Once they were on the road again, Kana moaned, "What the hell is wrong with people out here?"

"Okay, to be fair," he laughed, "I probably acted the worst out of everyone back there."

"That's true." she laughed. "You were like a real cowboy back there!"

"Yayyy…" he said in a depressing monotone.

She sighed. "Yeah, that was pretty lame. Do you think they'll call the police?"

"Nah. I don't think so. It looked like each one of those people had a warrant out on their own heads. No one's calling anybody out here."

"Good…."

"Well, that has got to be the strangest dinner I've ever had." he said. "I get the feeling that's the norm around here."

"Hopefully we get to LA soon. How far do you think we are from there?"

"Um….we have to be no more than an hour and a half away." he said. "Maybe a little sooner."

"Oh…damn…"

Sam looked at her and saw her painful expression. "What is it?" he asked.

A sign off the highway pointed the last rest stop before LA. There, Kana had to use the bathroom, so Sam just stood by the car playing with his watch. When Kana came back, she asked, "What you did back there….that was, uh, new."

"I think I'm beginning to really like this thing." he said. "I can think of a million things I could use this for."

"A million?" she asked in a laugh.

"Okay not a million, but a lot. Ready to go?" he asked while walking back towards the driver seat.

Kana didn't move from her position in the dirt. Her hands clasped together in front of her with her head lowered, and she mumbled, "Um….can just…stay here fro a few minutes?" she asked. "I know we're close…but…."

"Uh, sure." he said while closing the front door and sitting on the hood. "Why not. I didn't want to drive any more for a while anyway." He patted the spot next to him on the hood and she sat down hugging her knees to his right. When her head leaned against his shoulder, he felt worried and had to ask, "Something on you mind?"

"Do you know what's going to happen when we get there?" she asked. "No one has told us anything."

"No…not really," he said while putting an arm around her, "but with people like these nut jobs, it's probably best to go with it and get it over with."

"Aren't you scared?" she asked. "They were packing up some serious stuff….How big is this going to get?"

"I don't…." he sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "Hell if I know…..I get the feeling that, when it's over, we'll know it. Don't worry. If we just keep our heads up and eyes open, we should be fine."

She turned to him and leaned back on her hands. "You sure?" she asked. "I don't feel as confident about this as you do. I get the feeling I won't be very useful at all."

"Do you want to be?"

"Honestly….no, I don't." she said. "I don't feel like this is our fight anymore."

He nodded leaned back against the windshield with a very exaggerated sigh. "Oh yeah…I get that same feeling. That's why I said we should just keep our heads up and get this over with."

"…mmmm.." she sighed with a concerned expression into sleeve.

Sam reached his arms out and said, "Kana?"

"Hm?"

"Come here."

She finally cracked a smile and laid down on him while his arms wrapped around her. "Listen…" he said. "No matter how crazy these people are, they're pros. Whatever happens to me, I know they'll do their part. Also, I won't take you anywhere I think might be dangerous. For now….I want you to keep out of sight and safe. You weren't ready for something like this….hell, even I wasn't….so for now, just be safe. I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks."

She sighed and squeezed his hand. "Okay… thanks, Sam. I needed that."

"You feel better now?"

"Yeah….but I'm still worried out you.."

"I'm worried about myself too, but I need you to just have faith that I'll be fine." he said. "Sometimes, that's all we can do."

"Okay…I'll try…" she sighed. "…but it's not much to hang on to."

He kissed her on the cheek and said, "At least it's something."

-o0o-

A few hours and a couple hundred miles later, Sam received a text with an address of a safe house in Santa Monica. At an empty community center not ten miles from the beach, Sam could see a green Plymouth hemi parked behind the building passed a closed off, fenced in, and rundown skate park. Finding the place was a little harder than expected thanks to the lack of lights outside after the sun went down.

Inside, the only thing remaining was a large hall full of rusty chairs stacked by one of the walls. Vorkof and Laura had set up cots, a table, and a cooler full of cold drinks in the center of the large room. In front of them were empty boxes of take out.

"Hey…you guys made it." he said. "I figured it'd take at least over night for you too. I'm surprised you didn't get lost out there."

Sam looked around and asked, "Where's Don?"

"He's out back working on something." Vorkof said, spinning a knife on the table. "I wouldn't back there if I were you, though. He doesn't like to be disturbed."

Sam ignored the warning and walked passed them to the back. No one said anything or tried to stop him, but it did make the air awkward. Kana took a step forward after him, but Vorkof put an arm out to stop her.

"Don!" Sam said, looking around outside. By the small skate park, he could see Don working with an old tarp.

"You need something, kid?" he asked, "I'm busy, in case no one told your sorry ass."

"I think it's time I knew why were here." he said. "I've kept my mouth shut until now."

Don sighed heavily and lit a cigarette. He motioned for Sam to follow him, and they climbed up to the roof using a painting ladder and a drainage pipe. Standing just high enough to view the ocean, Don pointed to a large cargo container ship way out in the distance and handed Sam a gun scope from his pocket. "You see that?"

Sam looked through the scope and nodded. The ship was hard to make out, but its silhouette was visible in the moonlight. "Yeah? What about it?"

"I'm pretty sure one of those containers has one a couple of kids from your neighborhood."

"What? Seriously? Are you certain, or is this just a hunch?" Sam asked, lowing his hand and handing the scope back.

"I'm pretty fucking positive, kid." he sounded angry and threw his butt on the roof and stomped it out.

"Okay…So, what's the plan? We gonna save them and take them home?"

Don looked at him like he was a complete moron. "No, we're supposed to kill them."

"You're…you're joking right?"

"Nope….I'm dead fucking serious." he said. "Templars got to those kids already. We have to kill them before they reach Abstergo's central animus housing."

"What's that got to do with those children?"

"My god….you're are just freakin….out of it, aren't you, kid?" he sighed while wiping his hands off on a rag from his back pocket. "Listen….that container is hopping on a train tomorrow morning, heading for New York. There's so sort of big fuckin computer something there that can put more than one person into an animus session."

"That's news to me."

"It's news to everyone, kid, so don't get all bent out of shape and butt hurt cause you just found out. I guess a few of those kidnapped kids you were sent to find were actually useful."

Sam looked out across the ocean and rubbed the back of his head. "So, why do we have to kill them? Can't we save them?"

"The templars will come back for them if you do, so it's easier for everyone to just kill them and get it the hell over with." Don turned to Sam and poked him in the chest with his finger. "The sooner we pull this shit off, the sooner we can all go back to our own shit. I didn't decide to help you out to save people, kid, so don't expect too much." Don jumped down from the roof and waved him off. "I'm going to sleep in the conference room. The next time I see you, it better not be any sooner than tomorrow."

-o0o-

"Okay…" Laura yawned and stood up from the table. "I'm heading to bed. I advise the rest of you to do the same. We get up real bloody early in the morning." She went to lay down in one of the cots. "Somebody turn the bloody light off."

Vorkof stood and walked outside, so Kana got up from her chair and headed out back. The night sky had encompassed the horizon, but the lights from downtown and the moon's reflection off the water made it easy to see. "Sam?" she looked around, "You out here?"

"On the roof!" she heard his voice say.

After leaping on an empty dumpster and jumping up from the chain link fence, she hoisted herself up and dusted herself off.

"There is a ladder back there." he said, pointing behind him.

"Oh…thanks…I'm glad you said something." This made Sam laugh a little. "So…did uh…you have a talk with that guy?"

He nodded. "Yeah….I figured out what's going on…."

She sat down next to him and asked, "What is it?"

Sam looked at her, and palmed his face. "Kana….listen….I need you to do something very important…" His face was extremely serious and expressionless, which scared her.

"What…what is it?"

"I need you to go home."

She looked at him, confused. "You mean…..back to Kyoto….Tomorrow will be bad. I just have this feeling….I need you to go home."

"You…you can't." she said in almost a hoarse whisper. "You can't send me away. You promised me you wouldn't."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "I know what I said, but now I need you to do this. I wouldn't be asking you this unless I knew another way."

"Sam, what is supposed to happen tomorrow?"

He looked at the horizon and blew out a long stream of air. "I'm pretty sure we're going to blow up a train." he said. "Don't ask me how I know. I don't have the energy to explain. I just need you to do this for me."

"Train?…..but, Sam I don't want to-"

"This isn't about what you want to do, this is what I'm telling you to do!" he shouted. "I'm not asking, I'm ordering."

"You….really going to pull rank on me?" she asked. "I can't believe this! I thought you said you wouldn't do this! Sam, I don't wanna leave!….*sniff*…I wanna stay here with you and fight!"

Sam stood up turned away from her. "Take a taxi to the airport. Buy a plane ticket. Go home. Go back to the shop. Feed that stray you like so much. Just ….please…go home."

"You're…really serious…" she said. "….You're dead serious…"

"I am…"

Kana, in a bit of a state if shock, climbed down from the roof. "Alright…." she said. "I'll go." She started crying into her sleeve and began walking towards the street.

Sam hopped down and turned to her. "It's not like we won't see each other again." he said. "I'll come back home. I promise I will."

"What about your other promise!" she screamed, and turned to face him. Rarely was she angry, but when she was, the rage was high. "You lied to me!"

"I'm only trying to keep you safe!" he shouted back. "Why can't you just do as I say?!"

"Because if you die, then I want to be there with you!"

That stunned him, and he froze in place. "Are…you serious?" he asked.

She ran towards him, screaming, and started to pound his chest with her fists as hard as she could. He stood there, taking it and watched her sob her eyes out and vent her anger on him. Eventually, the sobbing increased and the power behind the blows died down. She collapsed on the ground and he barely caught her before she fell completely. "I…..I hate you so much right now…*sniff*….You are the worst." she cried.

Sam looked up at the street. "God….can't we just fucking leave this country?" he asked no one in particular. "Can't we say, 'fuck it' and leave?"

"Can…*sniff*…can we?" she asked, barely audible. "Please Sam….can we please just go home? I can't stand all this worrying….I can't stand all this waiting and moving around and nothing happening….*sniff*…"

True, there was a definite pattern to the last few days. Nothing but traveling, waiting, worrying, anticipating, and dreading. Yes, there hadn't been much combat, and there hadn't been much of any real engagement with the enemy, but being kept in the dark and the tension of dieing any day was really wearing on them both.

Earlier during their long drive down, Sam had pondered the possibility of dieing the next day, or the next day, and eventually he had succumbed. In his mind, he realized that death was knocking on his door, and he'd have to ask Kana to leave eventually. There was only one way of playing it safe, and this was it. The broken heart would be painful, but at least she'd still live from the whole ordeal.

Maybe what lied ahead wouldn't be that bad, but there was always the chance of dieing. Sam didn't have much choice on the matter. His fate had been determined and set. Death was a high possibility for him. Kana, on the other hand, had a choice.

She chose to go with him after he had given her the opportunity to stay behind. Now he was trying to change her mind forcibly. Even if she hated him for it, at least she'd still be alive even if he wasn't.

"Listen, Kana…" he sighed while helping her to her feet. "I won't force you to leave, but I do want you to. I just want you to be safe."

"But what about you?" she asked, trying desperately not to break out into tears again. "I can't stand the thought of never seeing you again."

Sam looked up at the sky, trying to think. There is an old saying about the first thing on impulse to do is not always the best, but this time, Sam could care less. "Come on." he grabbed her hand and ran inside. They ran passed Laura, but made enough noise knocking things over to wake her up. Sam read a sign by a door down passed a hallway on the other end of the building and swung the door open. He let go of Kana's hand, and she stood out of the doorway.

"Wake up!" he screamed, "I'm finished! You hear me!?"

Don turned on a portable lantern next to where he was sleeping on a cot he had dragged into the room and turned his angry eyes towards Sam. "What the fuck did I fucking say about not seeing that ugly ass mug of yours?"

"I'm done!" Sam screamed and kicked a chair on the wall. "We're leaving! You can do this without me!"

Don stood up and laughed. "What the fuck makes you think you have a choice?" he asked. "The brotherhood still has you blacklisted. You are in no position to fucking do as you please, you little Jap runt!"

Sam kicked the scruffy man as hard as he could in the stomach, but felt his leg get caught between Don's torso and left arm. His leg was dragged back, and Sam felt his body being pulled forward. Don's fist came up and connected with Sam's face, sending him to the ground faster than a rock.

"You really fuckin think you can take me on?" Don shouted, "I've been doing this longer than you've been alive!"

Don brought his foot up to stomp the ground, but Sam rolled out of the way and jumped back up. In anticipation of the dodge, Don threw an elbow his direction. In the dark, Sam barely dodged the strike. As the elbow passed his head, Sam caught Don's arm and kneed his side, then bent the arm back the wrong way. After placing his right foot behind Don's legs, Sam palmed striked him as hard as he could, sending the older man's flying backwards through an already broken window.

"Ughh….what the fuck…" Don writhed in pain on the ground, but stumbled to his feet as Sam jumped out of the window and land ready to fight again.

Laura had already woken up and started running towards the commotion. She ran out the back door and saw the glass on the ground and the two men ready to go at it. "Stop!" she screamed. "What the bloody hell is this?!"

Don pointed to Sam and shouted, "He's gone rouge! He's defected!"

Laura turned to Sam and released her hidden blade from her wrist. This hostile action made Sam do the same and point the blade at her.

At the window inside, Kana watched what was happening. When she saw the blade drawn, she gasped.

"Stand down, Sam." she said. "We can talk about this….we're all on the same team, remember?"

Don shouted, "Not anymore we're-"

Laura cut him off and shouted, "Shut up, Don before I cut your bloody lip open!" She turned to Sam and lowered her arm, "Listen….we can talk about this."

Sam's stance never relaxed, and his arm never went down. "I'm leaving…" he said. "I'm done playing your fucked up game. I don't even trust any of you."

Don charged him with hid belt blade in hand, and Sam blocked the knife with his wrist. Sam tried to head butt the man after closing distance, but Don parried to the side and kneed him in the stomach. As Sam's body fell limp, he elbowed him in the back.

"Ackkk!" Sam coughed while falling on all fours, gasping for breath.

"See?" Don shouted at Laura, "He's gone a-wall!"

"Bloody hell!" she shouted, "What the hell did you have to do that for?"

Sam spun on his back and kicked Don in the back of the knee, with his other leg, he kicked out both of Don's legs. The scruffy man fell on his ass as Sam spun on the ground and launched himself back up. Don tried to jumped up, but Sam jump kicked him twice in the face. He dropped his knife and fell backwards, writhing again like before.

Sam was about to attack Laura, but she sheathed her blade and put up her hands. "Sam, wait!" she shouted. "Just tell me! Why are you doing this?"

"I can't take anymore of this." he said. "I'm finished…I'm not going through with this anymore. I can't take not knowing what's going on, and I'm definitely not killing any kids!?"

"Kids?" she asked.

Kana jumped out of the window, now recovered from the shock of how fast everything happened, and asked, "Kill kids?"

"You…you didn't know about this?" Sam asked, hidden blade still poised. "That was the mission, right?"

"Bloody hell no!" Laura shouted. "We don't kill children!"

"But…." Sam sounded confused. "What about the targets in the container? Aren't we supposed to kill them?"

"No…not even remotely." Laura said. "Sam…please put the blade away. I need to know what the bloody hell you're talking about."

Don, clenching his face, got up and said, "Mhhff….I told him that."

"What?" Laura asked.

"I received new orders." he said. "I was told the targets have been compromised."

"Like hell you did." Vorkof said, walking up behind Laura. "You people are very inconsiderate of those trying to sleep in their cars. Sam, put the blade away. No one wants to get hurt here."

"I'm telling the truth!" Don shouted. "You fuckin think I'm blowin hot air?"

"If that's true, then why didn't you tell us sooner?" Vorkof asked. "You were going to have Sam kill those kids, weren't you. Then he'd really look like a rouge assassin."

Don stood there, looking at everyone back and forth, then sighed. "Fuck you all and your fucking assassin's creed." he said. "I remember being loyal to the creed years ago, but we're fighting a fuckin loosing battle."

"You….piece of bloody shit…." Laura growled.

"Listen to me!" Don shouted. "There's no other way out! The Templars will win this! I had to think of a fuckin way to save our skins!"

"Don…" Vorkof sighed, "…we've worked together for years…..you taught me everything I know…how could you turn on us like this? How could you set us up!?"

"I wasn't fuckin setting you up!" he shouted, taking a few steps back as Laura and Vorkof stepped forward. "I contacted templars before coming here. I made them a deal. If we did this, then we'd all be set for life! No more of this bullshit hiding out! No more living in the dark!"

"That was an assassin depot wasn't it…." Sam walked forward, blade drawn, "….back in San Francisco…..that was our clean up crew depot, not the Templars…..you made me kill our own!"

"What did you do?" Vorkof asked. "We know you took Sam somewhere that morning…..what the fuck did you do?"

"Old…dear…friends, please." Don pleaded, "I was only trying to set us up for a good fuckin life….you can't blame me for that." He turned to the blonde Russian with his wrist extended, black blade in the wind. "Vorkof….we've worked together a lot together…..we're old friends….I was only trying to fuckin help you…"

During the confession and stand off, Kana had snuck away into the darkness back inside. The whole time they four outside were talking, she had made her way around the building and had slowly approached Don from behind.

Laura, Sam, and Vorkof all exchanged glances, and each of them had their blades drawn. Don had seen the intent to kill on each of their faces, and he flicked his wrist. A spring-loaded short stub nose six-shooter released from its hiding place in his wrist, and now the gun was trained on the three. Sam, Vorkof, and Laura froze in place.

"You fuckin idiots." he said. "You fight a battle you'll never win…. And it never hurts to bring a gun to a knife fight."

"The brotherhood will come after you, Don." Vorkof said. "They'll come after you will everything."

"Not a fuckin problem." he said, "The Templars can protect me better than the brotherhood ever did."

Kana had extremely slowly on tip-toe snuck up in the shadow of the building behind Don with her hidden blade drawn. Once she was in position, she rushed up behind him and said, "Can they protect you from one little girl?"

Her blade had thrust deep into his neck far enough to almost create an exit wound. Don released the gun and gripped at his neck, but fell to the ground coughing. Blood had started to spurt everywhere as if from sprinkler, and he desperately lunged for the people around him with both hands.

Sam was standing closest and Don started crawling towards him with a look of desperation and fear. Sam walked forward, but instead of offering help, he triggered the hidden blade in his boot and kicked Don right in the face. The blade penetrated the eye causing instant death and coating Sam's boot in red.

Don's body dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

Everyone stared at the dead body intently for a few moments, stunned, breathless, and completely at a loss for words. It wasn't until Sam and Kana looked up at each other that the silence was broken.

Sam and Kana ran for each other and clenched each other with their arms around one another. They didn't shed any tears, but just stared off blankly in their own respective directions, desperately clinging on to each other as if their lives were dependant on it.

Laura blew out a long sigh and started releasing a long stream of every curse word she could think of. Vorkof stood over Don and knelt down. "Спи спокойно, дорогой товарищ (Rest in Peace)." he said. "I hope that….whatever lies beyond this world…..you can rest there."

-o0o-

News of Don's death were reported back to the brotherhood after Vorkof had called a clean up crew. They remaining four had been picked up and, now well into the morning, were brought to the nearest guild.

The guild they were now staying fronted as an apartment building downtown. They received full accommodations of assassin's on leave, and given the circumstances, each received a physical. As Sam was being looked over by someone, a man in a white and red sleeveless hooded shirt wearing a leather strap around his wrist came in holding a file.

"You…uh, Sato Nakamora?" he asked.

Sam nodded and pulled a shirt over his head after asking the doctor to leave. "Can I help you?"

"I'm the head of the clean up crew." he said. "The name's Dillon. How're ya feeling, man?"

"Fine…" Sam said, then looked up. "Wait…I forgot all about the cargo container."

"No worries, dude. Someone is already lookin into that." The lively spiked haired American surfer looking guy handed him the folder. "I thought you might wanna read this."

Sam took the folder and opened to the first page. There were paper clipped pictures of himself, Kana, Vorkof, and Laura. The only pictures of Don were of his dead body on the ground. The first paragraph address what happened at the community center and what events led up to it. The second paragraph address Don personally, and went in depth on his traitorous actions. The third paragraph, although extremely short, made Sam sit on the edge of his chair.

"Sato Nakamora has effectively shown his aptitude. Given the circumstances, the Erased has been disbanded and each respective member has had their rank and postion reinstated. Vorkof Travinski and Laura Davis will all receive full commendation for their services. Kana Yukito, former apprentice under Sato Nakomora, has been given back the rights to return to Japan with her mentor, and will be promoted to field operative for her actions."

"Hot off the presses, bro." he said. "I thought you should get first dibs."

Sam put his hands in his face and shed tears of relief, then stood and opened the door. "I gotta go."

The guy sitting in the room picked the folder up and said, "You'd think he'd be happy. What a weird dude."

Sam passed few other assassins in the hallway wearing trendy clothing complete with hoods. One of them was depicting a fight using hand gestures and thrusting the air. Sam stopped and asked, "Have you seen a girl about up to here?" Sam brought a hand up to the base of his chest. "She's got grey hair."

They looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah bro. You don't see grey hair everyday." One of them said.

"Where is she?"

"Try the armory downstairs." The other followed up. "I saw her walking down to the basement. That's the only thing down there."

"Thanks!" Sam ran passed them again and followed the staircase down the lower level. A large metal door was slightly open, and he rushed inside. This armory unlike the one before was much smaller and feature most of the standard equipment. Inside, Kana sat in a chair in front of a desk flicking her hair clip blade in and out aimlessly. When the door opened more, she turned.

"Sam?"

"Kana!" he rushed forward and picked her up in a twirl.

"Sam, put me down!" she said. "I feel dizzy."

He set her down gently on the desk and her feet swung back and forth slightly off the edge. "Kana, we can go home."

With wide eyes and her hands clasping his shirt she asked, "Really? You sure? Are you absolutely sure?"

He nodded. "Yes….yes I am."

She clasped her arms around his neck and put her head in his shoulder. "I'm so relieved….." she cried. "I was sure things were going to get worse."

A knock on the open door startled them.

"Excuse me." A young assassin trying to look as least awkward as possible said. "I was asked to ask you if you were hungry."

Upstairs at a table for much more than four, Vorkof and Laura sat eating simple plates of oatmeal and protein enhanced milk.

"Glad you two could make it." Vorkof said. "Hungry? I kind of was when I heard about food, but after looking at this, I almost had a change of heart."

"Hey guys….." Sam said.

"You look pretty emotional." Laura said. "I guess you heard the good news."

"We did." Kana said.

Sam sat and looked them both in the eye. "I want to thank you both…" he said. "I'm not sure what I'm thanking you for, but I guess I am."

"You too." Vorkof said. "You're alright. I can't say I'm glad we worked together, but I am glad were here…still kicking our feet." They all nodded.

"Sooo, you two going to stay for breakfast?"

Kana and Sam looked at each other. "Probably not." he said, putting an arm around her. "The first flight we can get, we're out of here."

"Have bloody fun with that." Laura said.

Vorkof nodded. "Yeah, I'd fly you two, but I don't want to. I'm flying myself back home tonight. It's been a while since I've seen my kids."

"You have kids?" Laura asked. "You can't be any bloody older than Sam here."

He shrugged while standing up. "There's a lot about me you don't know. Is it that surprising? Anyway….I haven't slept in almost a day." He stuck out his hand, and Sam shook it. "Bye, Sam." He patted Kana on the head and smiled. "You take care of this guy, got it?" She nodded.

Vorkof waved good bye and walked away.

"You two get going." Laura said. "You aren't getting any bloody emotional goodbye out of me. It was not at all an experience I want to remember."

Sam stood and grabbed Kana's hand. "See ya then." he said while walking away. She waved to them half heartedly like she didn't care.

Hand in hand, Kana and Sam walked towards the front entrance. On their way out, the spiky haired assassin who talked to Sam before stopped him on his way out.

"Hey, dude! Wait up. You two leaving already?"

They both nodded.

"Let me drive you to the airport."

It really had been almost a day since they slept. On route to the airport, they slept in the backseat of the car. After purchasing tickets for the next flight and completely ditching all their gear, including Sam having to buy a pair of black slippers from the gift shop they slept five hours in the terminal seating.

The flight home took over seven hours. Except for in flight meal and occasional use of the bathroom, they slept the entire time. Sam would take the window seat and lean against the side with Kana draped over him like a blanket. A flight attendant had been kind enough to pull an actual blanket over then while they snoozed the hours away.

Taking their time leaving the airport, Sam and Kana were surprised to find someone waiting for them by the front entrance. A woman holding a sign up that said, "Sam." stood by the door.

"Niki?" Sam asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You know what sucks?" she started to vent while leading them outside to a car "They made me take over your shop while you were gone. I don't know anything about bikes! What was so important that you had to leave all the sudden?"

Sam and Kana couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Good thing your back." she said. "A little dog keeps coming by and bothering me like I'm supposed to take care of it."

"Good to be home?" Kana asked, reaching for his hand.

He sighed, smiling. "Yeahhhh…..it really is."

* * *

This has been quite a chapter for me. I am really glad i put the time in today to write this whole thing. Having said that, I regret to say I have to go out of town for about a week starting tomorrow, so updating might not be so easy. Please keep me, and especially this story in your thoughts. If you can, send me those thoughts and I would be happy to respond to them. I'll try to update soon.


	15. A Night on the Town

This is such a feakin blessing. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to update for at least another four days, but my uncle I'm staying with let me borrow a computer for three and a half hours, so I'm back in business, people! Alright! It is a shame i couldn't update sooner though, and for that, I apologize to my readers. Anyway, please read and please give me review.

Assassin's Creed, well, it ain't mine.

* * *

Chapter 15

A lot of things were never meant to work out. Not that anyone needed to worry, but sometimes things are best done the more harder and expensive way.

Sam was supposed to open up a hospital ward for the injured, but having to put up a motorcycle shop front and not being in town much, that idea was scratched and sent somewhere else. Now, a few months later, Sam found himself running a legitimate repair shop for the assassins who happen to need work on their own bikes, and teaching Kana a thing or two each day while squatting in front of a two wheeler on a jack. The brotherhood liked this idea too. The visiting assassins helped keep an eye on very unpredictable member of their struggle.

His personality changed a bit since then. He cut his hair in an almost menacing style with his bangs lightly highlighted in red flowing over his right eye down to his cheek; the result of a suggestion made by a fellow assassin and rider who spoke out going to the extreme on things. Despite the new hair, the corner of lips cracked a small smile every now and again, like after coming inside from working on something in the garage early in the morning and finding Kana making something to eat. Yes, it eventually beccame that kind of relationship.

A lot of things hadn't changed. The stormy and rainy weather still plaqued Kyoto like an enormous eclipse shrowding pure natural light, now replaced by the blinking night lights of the city. The little stray husky again started coming around the place, getting in front of peoples conversations and staring blankly into peoples eyes for minutes at a time. Kana had asked if she could name the animal, but Sam refused. The dog was and still is a free willed stray, and he has no name. The husky, as if by some miracle braking the huge language barrier, was able to convey to Sam gratitude. Like Sam, the dog was very much closed off and aggressive underneath. He could appreciate that.

No assignments had come in to the two of them. The assassins who stopped by to have their bikes worked on frequently talked about their own exploits. One young man in his early thirties came by, and, while Sam worked on his bike, proceeded to explain his latest adventure in detail about a Templar courier holding someone hostage on the train. Needless to say, after hearing all those stories from fellow brothers and sisters, Sam felt as if he had been cast away for menial tasks. A clean up crew had been ordered to retrieve their gear they had discarded at the Kansai airport days ago, so there must be something in store for him now that he had his equipment back. The brotherhood wasn't known to waste someone with talents like him, but then again, the brotherhood had changed since the days of old.

It made him think. The brotherhood did know about his relationship with Kana, and maybe he had been given some space to be with her. Assassins don't grow on trees. Or... perhaps the brotherhood had no use for him other than being the handyman. Once that thought crossed his mind, he became very upset. Kana tried to comfort him and say it was just a short phase in time, but he knew otherwise. The conversation they had about that subject again changed everything.

Late into the evening, Sam and Kana stood side by side in the garage surrounded by about half a dozen of bikes in repair. With the garage door open, the air was very cool and damp, but with their trademark jackets on, it was hardly noticed. With on hand holding a rag and the other a wrench, Sam leaned against a work bench and groaned impatiently.

"You want to go for a walk?" she asked. "You've done nothing but work in here all day. I'm sure you'll feel better."

He threw the wrench back in its tool box and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah... lets go for a walk."

They both walked out into the overcast night air, and Sam closed the door. Down the street, several highschoolers walked towards bus terminal by the bakery, and a couple of middle aged women had dogs walking in toe while they talked.

"It's Saturday, isn't it?" Sam asked.

Kana looked at him quizzically and nodded. "Course it is. You really lose track?"

He looked around again, then said, "No one stays out late on a weeknight like this. It's gotta be a weekend."

"You've been in that garage way too long..." she said, taking his hand and slightly pulling him along down the sidewalk. "Why don't be stay out tonight?" she asked. "You haven't been out much lately, and you might really want to cut lose a bit and take your mind off things."

He gazed down at her with a smile and squeezed her hand slightly. "Sounds good." he said. "Better than good. Sounds awesome!"

"Hahaha...Great!" Kana pumped a fist up in the air as high as she could, which still wasn't very high. Truth was, she felt cooped up and restless too.

"Hmm..." Sam rubbed his chin and looked up.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Heh heh...I just realized something. We're both still underage...You think I could pass for twenty?"

"You could pass for twenty five if you tried." she said. "Aren't you alost twenty?"

True, he could. Unlike most nineteen year olds, he was much taller, leaner, and built, but a little closer to the skinny side. His torso was still very slim, but his shoulder were wider than a lot of people his age.

"Not sure." he said. "Probably."

Kana looked up at him with a mischievous grin. "What about me? Heehee..."

"You look like a little kid when you do that. I seriously doubt you'll be able to drink."

She turned away and crossed her arms. "Fine." she sounded annoyed. "How bout now?"

"You still look like someone's little sister."

"It's not my fault people think that!"

"Actually, it is. You're the one who told the bakery owner that, and she likes to talk." Sam said bluntly.

"Hmph..." she fake pouted and started walking faster away from him. "You don't want me as a little sister, do you."

"Oh...hell no I don't!"

She stopped and turned around. This time, he face looked genuinely sad and hurt. "That was supposed to be a joke...are you serious?...why would you say that?" she asked, on the verge a few tears.

He reached out and took her hand. She looked away from his gaze, still angry, and rubbed her eyes. "Because..." he leaned down and said softly into her ear, "I couldn't do this..."

Kana jumped a little when he bit her ear slightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Oh...so that's why..." she said, looking up at him with a smile of relief.

"Um...of course." he said like it was obvious, then kissed her on the eyelid. She giggled a bit and hugged him around his neck.

"I feel stupid now..." she said, with a big smile on her face.. "That wasn't a funny joke."

"You're right." he said, taking her hand and continuing their walk down the street. "Sorry about that."

She wrapped an arm around his, and leaned against his shoulder. "Thanks..."

"Don't mention it." he said. "So...where do you want to go?"

"I heard a new ramen stand opened up by the arcade." she said, instantly realizing how childish that sounded.

"Ramen stand...arcade...is this supposed to be a first date?" he laughed.

She looked down and kicked a small people a few feet. "Well...kinda...I guess." Her response raise Sam and eyebrow. "It's just...well, you and I have never actually...you know...done normal date type stuff..."

"And...you actually want to do that kind of thing?" he asked.

"We don't have to if you don't want to!" she pleaded. "I...I..forget it. It's stupid."

"I can't wait..." he said. "I've actually been meaning to ask you if you wanted to go out like this sometime, but I guess I've been obsessing and my head's been in the wrong place lately."

"Wait...really?" she asked. "I never took you as the type to do all that girly stuff."

"What?" he asked, not at all serious, "Me? No...I'm like the fluffiest bubbly person you meet! Haha..."

She nudged him in a ribs and laughed. "You have lightened up some since we met." she said. "You used to be so reclusive and didn't say much.''

He pat her on the head and laughed. "You used to be really timid and shy, but could throw a scary roundhouse at the same time. You have been one surprise right after another for me."

"mmmmm..." She rubbed her face against his cheek and moaned softly in contentment.

"Seriously...you surprise the hell out of me sometimes."

She didn't seem to be listening anymore; just enjoying herself and the warm physiccal contact on her cheek.

"Ok...I'm going to put my hand down now..." he said. "Ready?...One...Two..."

"No wait!" she reached down and snatched his hand back up. "Not yet..."

Sam wrapped his arms around her and kissed her a few times on the same cheek. She reveled the experience and sighed happily. "Are you done now?" he asked. "Had your fill?"

"Just one more thing."

She cupped his face with her palms and gave him a long, warm, gently but passionate kiss. When she was done, they both had to gasp a bit and wipe their mouths. "Ok, now I'm done." she said, huge smile on her face.

"Just about?" he asked, debating whether or not to laugh.

She nodded. "I'm satisfied. We can go now."

"Oh, now we can go. Hahaha. Ok, lets go."

Hand in hand, they walked down the sidewalk towards the brighter lights of the city. No cares, no worries, no hoods, no secrecy, no tension, nothing. Just a night to themselves.

The ramen stand wasn't bad at all. Sam wasn't much of a noodle eater, but if he had tried a lot of different shops, this one would definitely be on the top of the list. He had his fill of about five bowls, which shocked both the owner and Kana. Out of all the years the old man had been making noodles for people, no one had eaten this much in one sitting. Kana could barely eat half of a bowl, which opened up a lot of doors for small person jokes for the brass and crude teenage boy sitting next to her. He had to tried to pick her up, but was immediately shot down. Sam pretended not to notice and kept on eating. Being small was her 'do not press' button, and even the stand's owner was happy to see her throw the remainder of her food in the boy's face.

"Well, that was good." Sam said.

Kana, still fuming a little from the teasing, asked Sam, "You don't really think I'm that small, do you?"

"You're honestly worried about what that kid said?" he asked.

"No...I'm not, but I don't want you to think I am." she said. "Normally, I wouldn't care. It's just...I don't want you to see me like that."

"I'll let you on a little secret." he said, bending down and pinching her nose. "I don't care either. I wouldn't have you an inch taller or shorter. In my arms, you feel just perfect." He stood up and started walking. "Lets go before one of us starts getting all broken up."

She ran up next to him and smiled. "Yeah, that ramen was good."

Arcades aren't much of an kid place like it used to be. That's not to say the games are catered more towards adults, it's just adults place more video games than they used to. Even for young adults, a crane game with cute little stuffed animals makes a good date activity. Instead of playing the game to win a prize for a girl, Sam played the game a few times to win prizes for a few small children eying the toys. The small children, now holding their new stuffed animals, waved goodbye to Sam with smiles and laughter. Sam waved and smiled back as they dashed away.

"You'd make a good big brother." Kana said. "Those kids really liked you."

"That's cause I won them prizes." he said, "Besides, do I really strike you as the kid type?"

"You get along with me just fine..." she mumbled.

"That's cause your not a kid." he said.

She put a fist in the air and nodded enthusiastically. "Not a kid! Ooh! Cotton candy!"

While she ran off towards a stand in the corner of the arcade, Sam pondered something. When he first met her, she wasn't like this at all. Shy, timid, but dangerous, Kana had been the epitome of a girl raised and trained by the assassin order. Why then, does she act like such a juvenile recently? It occurred to him that, as they grew in their relationship and experiences changed them, she realized all the fun she had missed out on that other kids had experienced. Naturally, she'd be drawn to what she missed out on, but a part of Sam couldn't help but feel a little skeptical and guilty. This, after all, is the girl he had, to put delicately, slept with. For her to act so young was putting Sam off balance.

She came back holding the cotton candy in one hand, which painted a rather clashing and strange picture for Sam's eyes. Her clothes and appearance said the opposite of how she was acting.

"Wow...this is pretty good." She said. "How have I not tried this sooner!"

"Don't eat too much of that." he said. "As far as bad food goes, that's stuff is pretty bad for you."

"Aw...but it's soo good..." she sighed.

He patted her on the head and sighed. "Seriously Kana...what's with you? I've never seen you act so...carefree."

She just looked at him, annoyed, and shoved the cotton candy by the stick in his mouth. Sam stepped back in surprise and finished swallowing the pieces that had gotten into his mouth.

"It's good, huh." she said. "What do you think of it now?"

Sam wiped his mouth and smiled menacingly. "I think that was a bad idea."

"Uh-oh..."

While being chased around the arcade and laughing hysterically, Sam chased after her chuckling to himself. When he finally got a hand around her, she kept right on giggling like it was the funniest thing in the world. At that moment, it probably was.

He dragged her out of the arcade by the hand, trying to apologize to the manager for making such a scene over the loud noises of the establishment. _"Yeah...a real full blown kid...You gotta be kidding me..."_

They came to a bench on the sidewalk in front of a couple stores with plenty of lights advertising their merchandise with many people walking by around them in the busy time of the night.

After sitting down, Sam asked, "Are you done with your little escapade?"

She leaned against the back support of the bench and sighed. "Admit it, that was fun."

"No, it wasn't."

"That's a lie and you know it." she teased, brushing her wet finger over his nose.

He wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve vigorously and groaned. "Kana...you have this stuff all over your hands."

"Do I?" she asked. "Good. I'll save some for later."

"Oh...that's it." He got up and dragged her by the hand to a near by fast food restaurant below and a little ways from an overpass and made her wash her hands. When she came out of the bathroom, she looked disappointed, but perked right back up.

"So..what do you want to do now?" she asked. "Your turn to choose."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise and smiled. "It is? Hm...how bout we...see a movie. I don't think I've ever actually been to a movie theater to see a movie before." He said, looking up and pondering the irony.

"Neither have I..." she mumbled. "That's strange, isn't it..."

"Yeah." he said. "Have you ever been to one before?"

She nodded. "Once... We had to learn to track someone, so I spent about an hour in one just watching another recruit and following his movements. You ever have to do that?"

"No, but I watched my mentor kill poison someone's drink. I was only in there for maybe two or three minutes." he said. "Yeah...why don't we do that. Let's go see a movie."

"Yeah! Sounds good to me."

The only movie theater around was a little ways uptown, so they decided on catching the train. A small train platform jetted out on an overpass above the city street they were earlier. There they sat on another bench and looked around.

"Do we even know what's playing?" she asked. "I've never paid attention to any of that stuff."

"No idea." he said. "It's never crossed my mind before in my entire life.

"Yeah...this normal stuff really doesn't feel normal at all, does it." she said, hugging his arm and leaning against him. "Sorry I've been such a nuisance this whole time." she sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"No one said there's anything wrong with you." he said. "I kind of understand. It does feel a little liberating to do all these things."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure. Ever since I met you, I've sometimes wondered what it'd be like to just have a normal relationship...just taking care of you...not worrying about killing or getting killed the next day...Just...I don't know..."

She brought her knees up to her chest on the bench and sighed. "Yeah...Me too. Sometimes, I wish we could just run away together, but I realize that would be a waste."

Sam nodded and put an arm around her. "We do have a duty, after all. We can't just turn our backs on all this and pretend it doesn't exist."

They sat there, just waiting, and watched the crowd of people to their left and right go about their business.

It was a little eerie that all the noise from the crowds and the streets were coming from only below them. No one else was at the platform with them, but a only a few people were walking across the overpass around them. Finally, the train arched around the tall buildings and slowed to a stop in front of them.

Kana stood up before Sam and boarded. Sam was about to put a foot in the door of the train before feeling an arm or some sort of restraint keep him from moving forward. The train had already started closing its doors, and Kana turned around to see two men wearing masks and gloves grabbing his arms and keeping him back.

"Sam!" she screamed as the doors closed and he fell backwards.

"Kana! Wait! Hang on-"

A heavy boot to his face knocked him flat on the ground. His nose and mouth now felt painfully warm and moist as trickles of blood trailed down his chin and lip.

"This the guy?" One of the thugs asked.

The other nodded. "Yeah, that's him."

Sam jumped back up to his feet. His right right wrist flicked down by his side and his small metallic hidden blade extended between his fingers. He flashed the blade in front of the two men and said, "I'd think twice about what you're going to do. I'm no ordinary citizen."

One thug huffed mockingly and said, "And were not ordinary street thugs, assassin. You think we're stupid. We know who you are."

One thug spun in the air and landed a strong back kick, sending Sam sprawling across the ground. There was almost no time to react. After the back kick came a heavy volley of stomping. Sam could barely dodge the strikes, let alone get up. Whoever this guy was at least, he was good, or at least, not stupid.

He saw a split second opening, and Sam swept the leg of his assailant. With the momentum of the kick, Sam pun around and got up off the ground in one clean motion.

"Not bad..." the thug said, getting up.

"Weren't be suppose to wait until the rest got here?" the third wheel of the fight asked his partner.

"Fuck the others." he said. "I want this asshole to myself."

"I'm the asshole!?" Sam said. "I didn't do anything to you shitfucks."

The two thugs looked at each other. "He sure likes to talk." One said.

The other nodded his head in agreement. "Yep. Ok, ready? One...two...three!"

They both charged at Sam.

One kick went over Sam's head as he ducked. The other thug threw volleys of strikes his direction. A few of the attacks landed in his face and ribs, effectively knocking some of the wind out of him. The other thug swung low with a kick and hit the back of his knee hard.

_"Oh...that's fucking it!" _Angry...agitated...in danger...threatened...Sam felt the wrath coming on. His vision was hinting of a slight reddish tint and his body felt hot. With both hidden blades drawn and with a menacingly evil narrowed posture, Sam pointed the blades at the two and shouted out in a low growling tone, "Try that shit again! I dare ya!"

One thug attacked low, then swung high with a spinning hook kick to the head. Sam caught the foot with one hand by his neck, then sent his own kick into the man's genitals. As the thug screamed out, Sam threw the leg up and back as high as he could over the man's head. His body somersaulted backwards in the air, and he landed with a bounce on the sidewalk. Groaning, crying, and out of breath, the thug looked spent and pathetic.

Sam looked up from his defeated opponent, then up at the other still on his feet.

With no where to run other than down the overpass, the thug futilely tried to punch Sam square the in the chest. In a quick flash, Sam wrapped his left arm around the thug's arm and trapped the limb under in the crook of his armpit. His right knee connected with the man's ribs, and a few satisfying crunches of broken ribs could be heard. As the man's body dropped, Sam sent his right blade into the man's back as he fell to the ground. Whether or not he was alive by the time he hit the ground was a mystery. Sam just wanted to make him hurt.

The other thug holding his balls saw his partner die and started to desperately slide away. It only took a few steps to catch up for Sam.

He grabbed the wounded man by the collar and brought him up to his eye level. "Who sent you!" Sam screamed harder and louder than he ever had. "Tell me!" With one hidden blade extended below the man's neck, he said, "Don't make me do this."

The thug started a very painful and wheezing laugh. "What...*cough*...is stopping you from killing me...*cough*... two seconds from now?" After he finished those words, he stepped forward and forced the blade into his own neck. Blood splattered all over Sam's wrist before the suicide victim fell to the ground in a twitching heap.

Sam stepped back and surveyed his kills. Two men dead on the ground right next to a train station. Sam's tough luck was just was about to get worse.

Unfortunately, four more thugs in black masks ran up the stairs of the overpass and saw their dead comrades. Without warning, they charged Sam at full speed from the other side of the street. Sam propelled himself with full force off both feet and ran to meet his attackers.

The first one in line pulled a knife and tried to swing at him. Sam's dodged to the side while running forward and sent a blade into the man's back. The thug brought both arms up in the air and fell forward. The second one running up towards him tried to use a stabbing motion, but Sam caught the blade between his hands and twisted his wrist. While screaming in pain, the man dropped the knife into Sam's hand, and Sam spun forward. On the return spin, Sam brought the knife down and sent the blade into the man's neck.

The thug instantly clutched his neck choked. The other two thugs dropped their knives and pulled out small guns. Sam's eyes widened at the sight of firearms, and he used the man he just stabbed as a meat shield as the other two fired shot after shot into their dead comrade.

While pulling the dead man up with one arm, Sam aimed his wrist at one gunner and closed one eye. His own bullet penetrated the gunner's skull right between the eyes, and as his gun fell out of his hand, his body shot backwards as his head whip lashed against the ground.

Sam threw his meat shield aside and aimed his empty one shot gun barrel at the other thug holding a gun in an attempt to bluff him.

"You ever heard of a stand off?" the thug asked, holding his gun up. "This looks like one, but I know you don't have another round in that wrist blade device of yours."

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" Sam asked.

"I'm out too." The thug dropped his weapon and charged Sam before it hit the ground.

The charging body of the thug hit Sam square in the stomach, and they both flew across the ground. Sam lay on his back as punch after punch connected with his face. He was still a bit disoriented from his fall, but when he saw the flash of a small blade against the moonlight, Sam instinctively spun, hooking his leg around the thug's head, and kicked down.

Sam's perfect arm bar had given him the upper hand. After breaking the man's elbow, he stood and kicked the knife away from him.

The thug squirmed and screamed in pain, but Sam covered his mouth with his hand and slammed his head into the ground. The thug's eyes rolled back as the contusions set in and his pulse stopped.

Sam walked over to the bench by the train stop and sat down heavily. He wiped the sweat off his face and took a few moments to breath. "And I was having such a nice fucking time!" he shouted out. "God damn-it...Why today of all days..."

He sat there on the bench, looking up at the dim stars when an idea popped into his head. There was no time to get a clean up crew out here. Someone was bound to come up here to use the train station and see all this. All the bodies were dead, so if someone called the police, it'd just look like some gang war or something related. _"It's probably a good idea to get the fuck out of here."_

He stood, groaned while putting wieght on his knee, and started running down the stairs of the overpass towards the next train stop. No doubt Kana was on her way running back, and that would take awhile. The crowd of people walking with shopping bags below him would make a fast get away impossible. Sam did the most prudent thing and brought his hood up over his face while stepping in line with the small crowd of people. It was probably a good thing to hide his bloody face from anyone glancing at him anyway.

He came to a large intersection with many people waiting to cross on all four street corners. The hand signal came on and he started walking forward. There was a small commotion on the other side of the street. Someone whose head couldn't be seen was trying desperately to get the the other side through everyone else. Sam knew it had to be Kana, and he started running forward through his own crowd.

They both broke through to the front and saw each other panting. Again, they started running forward, and Sam got down on one knee with his arms out as Kana jumped into his arms, hugging him as tight as possible. The people walking across the street around them all passed their judgment and kept on going.

"Sam! Sam! Sam!" Her screamed, muffled by his shoulder, were still hysterical and loud. "I'm so sorry! I couldn't do anything!"

"Shhhhh..." he rubbed her back and winced as the pressure form his hug activated his wounded sides. "Kana...*cough*...now's not the time..."

A policewomen wearing a traffic armband started to walk over from the center of the road, and Sam painfully got up and started to run across the street with Kana's hand in his.

The policewomen tried to catch them, but they ducked into a store and watched her run passed the window. Kana tried to say something, but felt herself being dragged out of the store again out into the street near some taxis.

They jumped into one, and they started driver gave them a funny look.

"What happened to you?" the driver asked, setting down his coffee.

Sam panted heavily and grabbed his sides in pain. "Drive...Go! Just go!"

The driver obeyed for the sake of the wounded man and merged with traffic into the street. "Where to? The hospital?"

"No!" Kana said. "Wait, just drop us off by the bakery by the middle school!"

"Um...yeah ok, hang on, I'm turning around."

Sam was panting for air and clutching his side. He whispered a small thank you before returning to heavy breathing.

The driver was smart enough not to ask any questions or even talk. He just dropped them off by the bakery near the motorcycle shop and drove away after Kana threw a bunch of different yen bills at him.

With an arm around his torso for support, Kana puffed heavily while helping him back to the shop. She opened the garage door and helped lay him down on his back on a work bench.

"Hang on, I'm going to get some-"

"Don't bother..*cough*.. " he said. "They moved all the medical supplies..."

"Oh...yeah, that's right." she started to panic and looked around. "Well...what do you want me to do?!"

Sam painfully rolled over onto his stomach and said, "Help me arch my back."

She pushed up on his chest as his back bent the natural way until a pop could be heard. He then collapsed onto the bench in a heap, but at least his breathing was normal and his breaths were deeper.

"Oh...thank god...hahaha..." he laughed weakly. "That did it."

"Are you ok?" she asked, alarmed and confused by his reaction. "That looked extremely painful."

He nodded and sat up straight with his legs dangling off the bench. "I'm good." he said.

She reached up and tapped his nose. He flinched back and hissed. "That's probably broken." she said.

He reached up and punched his nose with his right fist. At first he screamed and clenched the bench with both hands as hard has he could, but now his nose looked straight at least. "It was." he said, keyword being "was".

She stepped back and bit her fingers. Tears had started to run down her cheeks like a floodgate had been opened, and suddenly she started wailing. The volume of her crying startled Sam and he jumped off the bench and put an arm around her.

"Hey hey hey now..." he said softly into her ear as she cried hysterically. "Why are you crying like this?"

"It's all my fault!" she screamed through her sobbing. "...I wanted to go out today..*sniff*..I couldn't do anything at the station..*sniff*..It's all my fault!"

Sam grabbed her by the shoulders and covered her mouth his hand. She stopped crying immediately and stared at him with wide eyes. "It's not!" he shouted. "No one saw this coming! It's not your fault!"

"But-"

"No! I won't have any of it!" he shouted, then pulled her close really tight. "You didn't attack me, it was them. You can't blame yourself for something someone else did. You did everything you can. Thank you...so please, for god sake stop crying."

She leaned into him and he stroked her short grey hair. "I'm sorry...Sam, I'm so sorry..."

"Shhh sh sh..." he picked her up and set her down on the work bench facing him, and kissed her. This stopped her from sniffling and calmed her down as she returned the embrace and brought her hands up to his cheeks. He pulled away and said, "It's alright...I'm fine."

She nodded and sighed while leaning on his shoulder. "Sam...I just wanted to see a movie with you and...then this happened."

"I know you did." he said. "It's ok. Really, it is. You're safe, and I'm going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine."

Kana tilted his face towards her and they look at each other. As her eyes observed each cut and bruise on his face, the tears and the guilt came flooding back again, and she covered her hand with her mouth.

Sam knew she was going to beat herself up all night if he didn't do something, so he pulled her inside and took his jacket and shoes off. She stood there watching him with her arms hanging at her side.

"Go lie down upstairs." he said. "Can you do that for me?"

She nodded slowly while taking her shoes off and slowly marched upstairs . Sam leaned against the table in the small kitchen and cringed as he tried to put weight again on his knee.

"Ah...shit..." he swore, and proceeded to pull his shirt off to see how bad the bruising on his ribs was. Thankfully, it wasn't to bad and his nose would heal just fine, but the back of his knee was getting worse. With the adrenalin flowing, he couldn't feel it, but now the inflammation was getting worse. "Going to need a brace now..." he sighed while limped upstairs to the bathroom.

Using a small washcloth, he wiped all the blood and sweat off, then walked out of the bathroom to the bedroom. Kana was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing hardly anything, waiting for him, and when he came in, she ran up to him and kissed him as hard as she could. He responded approvingly, and wrapped an arm around her.

Kana pushed him and he landed on the bed on his back. "Wait, Kana...we don't have to do-"

"Quiet Sam." she said, forcefully. "It'll take your mind off the pain."

That he couldn't argue with.

* * *

This whole chapter was a very random, in-the-face exciting experience for me. I sat down in front of this computer and honestly had no idea where I was going with this, but now I have a very good idea where I want to go with this. This next idea in my head may be the big one, folks.

Yeah, broken noses hurt, but getting hit in the knee or elbow hurts the worst. Losing range of motion and having pain in every little thing you do is the absolute worst. Lets not talk about that. Shoot me a question or something, and I'll get back to you asap. I hope to update real soon as long as lady luck will let me. See you all next time.


	16. An Invite

By far, has to be the longest chapter I've ever wrote. I'm not sure why, but all my chapters lately are long. Anyway, this chapter really goes somewhere, and the wheels of destiny really move for Sam and Kana. Please read and, most importantly, enjoy.

I do not own Assassin's Creed or any other brand trademark I may mention at any time.

* * *

Chapter 16

The next morning was definitely a new experience for Sam. The dull ache of his body clashed with the satisfied numbness leftover from the night before. The two sensations balanced each other out leaving Sam with a dull but uplifting level of lingering pleasure. Even as his body stiffened from each step, the hot chamomile tea he drank in the early morning while leaning against the outside wall next to the garage door tasted and felt better than it had been. Kana, on the other hand, had no physical pain to deter her from feeling dull euphoria thanks to last night, so when she came downstairs and saw Sam saying hello to and speaking to the bakery owner from down the street, she had a slight grin on her face she just couldn't get rid of. Her clothes were nothing more than Sam's discarded shirt from last night that hung on her like a robe and a pair of boxers which were completely hidden from view.

"So, you just...fell?" the woman asked. "That's dangerous. Have you thought of using rubber mats in your garage? That red nose looks like it hurts."

"It happens." Sam said. "A rubber mat isn't a bad idea. So, are you on your way back home?"

"Yep. I was just about to open up." the chipper woman said, smiling just as bright as the smaller girl who walked up behind Sam. "It looks like you are having more business lately, from the looks of all the bikes behind you."

"Looks like." Sam said, completely oblivious to how much his actions at that moment perplexed his neighbor. Kana leaned against him, and he put an arm around her as she let out a huge yawn and closed her eyes in contentment like a cat sitting on a sunny porch, although the sun wasn't quite up yet. "I've been getting a lot of referrals from past clients."

"You two...sure look close." she said. "Long night last night?"

"What?" Sam asked, then realized how odd the scene looked. After gently pushing Kana away and standing her up on her own, he said, "Oh..heh heh...Yeah I guess you could say that. Kana here was just studying pretty late into the night while I was working in the garage, right?" Kana nodded and cleared her throat, which added to her morning cuteness factor. Sam patted her on the head while taking a sip of his tea. "She also helps with the computers and bookkeeping around here. I honestly couldn't do anything myself around her without her." He said, smiling.

"That's really sweet." she said. "I can't get my daughters to even help each other take out the garbage. Such a nuance they can be..."

"Excuse me," Kana said, "but I don't think I know your name. Even after all this time, I don't think I caught it." Actually, niether of them did. Sam just referred to her as the baker since he didn't interact too much with anyone else, and Kana had never bothered to ask. Anyone's name from her family was actually a mystery to them.

"Come to think of it, I don't know yours either." she laughed. "Even after these past couple of months. Where are my manners... I'm Akiyama Kimiyura. Just call me Aki." She held out her hand, and Kana shook it. Sam couldn't help but laugh inwardly a bit. This was always a passing question he had wanted to ask, but it never came up.

"Kana..uh...Nakamora." Kana said, lying about the last name in order to preserve her cover. "Nice to formally meet you."

"You as well." Akiyami said, "Why don't you two come over some time when you're not too busy and have dinner with my family. We'd love it if you could join us. It's not often that I...or anyone in the neighborhood for that matter gets to see your face. Es specially Mr. Nakamora-san's mysterious face."

Kana smiled up at Sam, but Sam gave her stern look as if to say, "What the hell are you doing? I make a point not to get to close to these people! We shouldn't be having dinner with them!"

"Great!" Kana chirped. "We'd love to. How about tonight then?" Sam's hand on his mug gripped harder and harder

"Tonight is perfect." Akiyami said, nearly beaming. "Come by around seven, and please don't bring any food if you can help it. My eldest daughter Tama has been practicing her cooking all year and is dieing for someone to try her food. Don't worry though, it's good, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother. Oh listen to me ramble on...I'm sure you have to get to opening your store soon."

Sam nodded about a millisecond too soon. "Thank you for stopping by."

"Bye now!" she waved goodbye while walking away.

When she was out of ear shot, Sam painfully stepped clumsily back into the garage and sat down heavily on a workbench after pulling the chain to lower the garage door. "Kana..." he half sighed half groaned. "Why...why would possibly agree to dinner?"

"Well...It wouldn't hurt to have a nice home cooked dinner, and she seems nice. What's to lose?"

Sam shook his head and sighed. He had absolutely no energy to argue or even move. It took all his willpower to stand up again and endure the pain of walking while staggering back through the door inside.

"Are you ok?" Kana asked. "Do you need help?"

"Um..." Sam thought about it. "Yeah. It couldn't hurt."

"Ok.." Kana got next to him and put an arm around his waste. "Gosh...you're heavy...where do you want to go?"

"Bed."

"Really?" she asked. He always woke up before her and went to be after her. "Didn't you just get up?"

He nodded and winced while moving up the stairs. "Yeah, but I only got up to drink something and take a painkiller. I need at least a couple extra hours if I can make it through the day."

They made it up the stairs, into the bedroom, and onto the bed. Sam laid back and yawned while Kana pulled his boots off. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs slowly and sighed. "Getting my head knocked around sure carries on into the morning."

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked. "Want me to get you anything? Maybe a doctor?"

"Nah..." he said. "I'm good. Just some extra sleep and maybe a little stretching afterward."

"Ok. I'm going to clean up downstairs until you wake up." she said, making her way to the door.

"Hey, Kana?"

His voice stopped her before she made it out. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Thanks." he said. "I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't manage without you around."

She smiled and said, "Get some sleep, kay? I'll come get you in a while and help you get up." With that, she walked out of the room and closed the door. While walking down the stairs, she thought to herself, _"He's not superhuman or anything, but if someone was close to it, it'd be him..." _

Upstairs, Sam laid on his side and thought, _"She really is the best...the best of the best..."_

-o0o-

Fourty minutes later

A knock on the door woke Kana up from her nap on the kitchen table. After making tea, she accidentally fell asleep while holding the mug. Now, a little puddle of drool on the table showed her the reflection of a started and surprised grey haired girl. It wasn't even nine in the morning yet and someone was already knocking, again and again.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's the police." a man's voice said "We have a couple of questions we'd like to ask whoever lives here."

_"Uh-oh...what now?"_ Kana thought while backing away from the door. "Just a sec." she said to the door, "I'll be right back!"

She ran upstairs and burst into the bedroom. To her surprise, Sam was already up and pulling a shirt over his head after strapping on his boots. "Sam! The police! They're downstairs, and they want to talk to you."

He got up and stretched on his tip-toes. "Don't sweat it." he said. "It's ok."

"But, what if-"

"Relax..." he cut her off and walked by her out the door. "Let's go see what they want."

There was another, more impatient knock downstairs, and Sam opened the door. "Sorry to keep you waiting, officer. I wasn't quite awake yet."

"That's quite alright," a man in a very nice tailored black suit and white tie said, holding a badge. His hair was cut short, but waxed in a modern style. His shoulders and build gave Sam the impression he probably was in a boxing league or something back at his precinct. "May I come in?"

Sam turned to the side and waved him inside. "Like some tea?"

"That'd be great. Thanks." The policeman, or from what Sam could tell was probably a detective, looked around the kitchen and nodded in appreciation. "Nice little place you have here." he said. "It has a quaint feel to it."

Sam and the detective sat across from each other after Kana handed them both mugs. "Officer, I don't know why you're here, but it's definitely not to admire my home." Sam said. "I'm pretty tired, so could we skip the pleasantries and get to the root of why you're here?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother." the officer was very polite while talking out his phone. He fiddled with the device for a few seconds, then slid the phone across the table. Sam caught it and stared at it for a few seconds.

"A video?" Sam asked. "Is this a traffic cam?"

The detective nodded. "It's a video of Irihara street's train station overpass."

Sam looked up.

"I gotta say, you started off a little rough, but it seems like nothing can stop you if you're angry enough." the detective said, pointed to Sam's grainy figure fighting and killing the masked assailants. "The guns they were using were silenced, but a few people still heard and saw the shots from their rooms from some of the buildings." He took his phone back, fiddled with it again, and handed it back to Sam. "That one's a YouTube video." he said. "Fourty thousand hits in less than half a day is...really , really impressive. You're making quite a show of yourself."

Sam slid the phone back and got up. "Kana, we gotta go." he said. "Grab a few things and warm up one of the bikes."

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked. His face looked angry, but he was motionless.

"Wait! No one is going to kill anyone!" The detective frantically took off his silver wristwatch and stuck out his wrist. A small assassin tattoo adorned his wrist like a small charm. "We're on the same page here." he said. "Sorry, I probably should have told you I was an assassin too, but I wasn't sure if I had found the right people."

"Hang on..." Sam looked puzzled. "We have assassins in the police force?"

The detective laughed. "Not exactly." he said. "I'm not actually part of the police. I'm an investigator for Interpol."

"Interpol?"

"That's right. For the Tokyo office." he said. "Sorry to call you out like that, Sato is it? That's the name I got from one of your files."

"One of my files?" he asked, emphasis on the word "one".

"Can we all sit down again?" the man said. "I feel uncomfortable standing like this. Everyone in the room should really lower their hands down to their sides." Everyone's hand was slightly raised of their hips, ready to extend their blades.

Sam was the first to sit. "Yeah...ok." he said as Kana slowly leaned against the counter and sighed.

The man sat and breathed slowly out like he was aiming down a long range sight. "Good...good. Ok, now we can get down to business."

"What business?" Sam asked.

"We need someone with you level of...fighting forte...to help keep a certain someone safe." he said. "There aren't many people around here who can fight like you, and we have a high priority VIP we need to protect."

Sam sighed. "This person have a name? Do you even have a name? I haven't heard it yet."

"I apologize." he said. "Where are my manners. I was about ready to kill you before telling you my name. That's just rude on my part. My name is Kenji Kashimura. At your service."

"I'm Sato Nakamora." he said, then pointed to Kana. "That's Kana Yukito, my apprentice."

"She a good fighter too?"

"She gets by." Sam said. "We usually work together as a team."

"Then the offer extends to her as well." Kenji said. "If you're training her, then I have no doubt she can fend for herself. So, how bout it, Sato? You feel like taking a break from working on bikes and coming downtown with me?"

Sam looked and Kana as if to ask her if she had any input. "You've been waiting for this." she said. "There's no point in refusing."

Sam sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "When is the VIP supposed to get here? I need a day or two to recover. I'm sure you saw the video, but I need to get my knee looked at if I'm going to jump into this."

"That's no problem." he said, pulling out a a piece of paper. "Tonight, there's a party on the private top floor of this building. Take the day to find something for your leg. Sorry, but I can't give you anymore time. Be there tonight in very, very formal wear." He pulled out a business card from his other pocket. "This man can help size you two for a suit and a dress. I already charged it to brotherhood funding, so don't worry about that paperwork."

"Fine." Sam took the info and pocketed them himself.

"Thanks for your help, both of you." Kenji got up and adjusted his suit coat. "I'll have you two put on the list."

Sam opened the front door and waved him out.

"Sorry to stop by unannounced and spook you two like that." he said.

"It's fine." Sam said. "Let's just try to avoid something like that."

Kenji stuck his hand out and Sam shook it. He did the same thing for Kana. "Take care now." He said before walking away down the street.

Once the door closed behind him, Sam leaned against the wall and groaned. "Gahhh...damn this sucks..."

"Here, let me help you sit down." Kana put and around his waist and sat him down in one of the kitchen chairs.

Sam sat and rubbed his leg. His head perked up as an idea came to him. He took off his belt and stepped it tightly around his lower thigh to cut off some circulation. The throbbing pain seemed to recede away.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

He slowly nodded his head up and down with a slight smile. "Um….better, actually. Why didn't I think of this before." he said, getting up and walking towards the garage. "I'm going out to get a brace. This belt isn't the best solution."

"Need me to do anything while your gone?" she asked. "I can walk over and cancel Akiyama's invitation."

"No, when I get back, I'll do that." he said. "It'd be the polite thing to do, considering."

"That's very neighborly of you." she said.

"While I'm gone, take another bike and check out this address." he said, handing her the slip of paper Kenji gave him. "I want to know more about this place."

She nodded. "You got it." Sam mounted the closest bike to him and started the engine. "Do you want your jacket?" Kana asked. All he was wearing was a black t-shirt and slim grey pants.

He looked down at his bare arms adorned with the leather straps concealing his hidden blades. Maybe he was getting sloppy, or he just didn't care, but he shook his head and slowly rode out into the street.

Kana closed all the doors inside and hopped on a small 250. After walking it out to the curb and closing the door, she started the bike up and rode off into the opposite direction. For her, it was a long ride, but the traffic wasn't too bad. For most people, the work day had already started. She crossed a bridge into the downtown district, and searched around the tall buildings and structures for the address. The lavish and luxurious condominium building was easy to find, but the ground level offered no view of the top floor's balcony or living quarters.

She drove into and parked her bike in the parking garage of a business firm in an adjacent and slightly taller tower. Inside, the lobby said nothing more than business and suits and the elevators didn't go all the way to the top. One option was the take the long fifty plus level hike up the stairs, but after weighing her options, it was easier to just sneak out back and use the cargo elevator in the basement when no one was looking. One might ask about the dangers of security cameras, but anyone who grew up in Kyoto could say that anyone watching security cameras hardly ever actually looked at the screens. The elevator only went up so far, so she did have to take a few flights of stairs up to the roof. The door was padlocked, but after using a crowbar from a case containing fire equipment complete with a hose and a hatched, she was outside.

The wind that high up was almost painful. It attacked her in waves and blew her hood off the second she opened the door. _"Wow….this never gets old." _she thought while walking out across the roof. The wind blew her grey hair wildly about her face and tickled her neck. _"Maybe it's time to get a haircut."_ she thought while stroking the back of her head.

She stood on the edge of the building overlooking the top floor of the adjacent tower below from behind a ten foot metal link fence. There was a pool with a Jacuzzi, basketball court, and a modern style villa on the roof. Definitely a rich family's home or some sort of king-pin's hideout. _"I bet we could zipline down with a grappling cable if we had to." _To her right was a bench. She imagined someone using the bench like a table to prop up a sniper rifle. _"If no one was up here, this would be a perfect place to assassinate someone."_

"Hey! Kid! What are you doing up here?"

An overweight and bald security guard carrying a flashlight like a weapon started walking towards Kana. _"Damn…"_ She now had two options. The fast and easy way would be to take out the guard, but the second and most prudent way would to play the part. "Um…I'm sorry! I know I'm not supposed to be up here!"

"Damn right!" the guard said, like he was someone important. "Were you the one who broke the lock?"

"No sir, it wasn't me. I just came up here and noticed the lock was broken…" She was trying the play the innocent girl part by putting her hands together and act nervous. A school aged girl with a fascination with dark clothing.

The guard seemed genuinely mad, since this all happened on his watch, but instead of dragging her downstairs, he lowered his flashlight and ever so slightly smiled devilishly. "Come on." he said, holding out his hand, "I'll take you downstairs."

Kana, for a split second, was confused by his sudden change in behavior, but instantly realized what was happening and held back her urge to take him down on the spot. Her stomach turned as she took his hand, but it was all for the sake of her cover. Maybe she would be able to get out of all this without arousing suspicion.

They walked back inside and he closed the door behind them, but didn't move. Kana knew what was coming.

"You don't want me to tell mommy and daddy, do you?" he asked in a non-threatening and friendly voice. "Just do as I say and I'll make sure no one finds out." His fingers brushed against Kana's palm, and she knew there was only one option.

"Okay…." she pretended to be compliant until their bodies were close. The man's breathing was increasing and his smile grew. As her hand slowly lowered towards his privates, she extended her blade and thrusted it into his gut. The man doubled over and gurgled blood while clutching his stomach.

Killing someone in solitary conditions would be an uncommon experience for most people. In war, killing is inevitable, but in the civilian world, killing has it's own strange sense of spirituality to it. Kana had never actually killed anyone like this before. In fact, she hadn't actually ever killed anyone. Beat someone up, not intentionally. This was a big step for her. Maybe after spending so much time with Sam, some of his cold blood had rubbed off on her.

In that strange moment of spiritual limbo, Kana found herself surrounded by a strange emptiness with only the occasionally wisp of a cloud in the distance. She couldn't tell what she was standing on, only that she was in a white roof that went infinitely in all directions. Level with her feet was the security guard she had just killed. He lay on his back with large blood streaks on his shirt. His face however was not the face of a dead pig, but a smiling pervert.

Kana was about to ask how or why, but it that moment, she realized that a killer has a sort of supernatural bond with the life of the person she takes. Perhaps this interaction was what many people described as what they saw in their eyes before they died. This odd paranormal limbo was almost completely numb to all her senses.

"For such a little cutie…" he wheezed like a dieing animal. "….you drill deep."

She knelt down next to him and looked at his face. "Why…why did you choose to do this? I wasn't going to kill you at first."

"I…couldn't help it." he said. "Young girls….are…the best! Hahaha..*cough*….You think you're the first person I've done that to? I've brought dozens of girls up here before."

At first, she felt slightly guilty for killing someone only because they spotted her, but now, it felt like she was destined to kill this man. "Rest in Peace…" she said. "…God only knows you can get any where you're going…."

She stood and felt the world of limbo disappear. In a few seconds, she was back, in the stairwell with the dead body by her feet. This time, his face looked frozen in pain and agony.

"What….what the hell was that?"

-o0o-

The old medical guild That treated Kana after their first mission was run by an old friend who trained with Sam's old master. Usually, an injured assassin would have to wait until they could be treated for something major, but Sam was always bumped to the top of the list when he came by. Sam dismounted his bike and limped inside the hotel building that the brotherhood bought just for this purpose. An older but lean and still built man wearing a trademark assassin jacket with the hood up leaned against the side of the building chewing on a toothpick, but stood when he saw Sam ride up to the curb.

"Hey old man." Sam said, dismounted gingerly.

"Sam….nice to see you." he said, throwing the toothpick down. "Although usually it's not so nice for you. Looks like you got a limp this time."

They walked inside together and Sam sat down in one of the first floor rooms used for examination. He took the belt off and breathed slowly after sitting down on the bed.

"Got kicked?" the old man asked.

Sam nodded and extending his leg all the way while rotating his ankle. "I need to be on my feet by tonight." he said. "Got a brace or something?"

"Take your pants and boots off. Stand right there."

Sam did as he was told and stood in the center of the room. The old man pulled a large needle out of his cargo pants and stabbed Sam in the back of the knee.

"Ow." Sam mumbled. "Thanks for the warning."

"You're a big boy." he said. "That's a steroid shot. If you still feel pain, then you're not human…or animal…or anything for that matter. Point is, this ought to hold you over for a few days. I'll pack you a kit with about two weeks of doses. After that's used up, you won't be able to get anymore. You're body won't react to it." He walked over to a dresser and pulled out what looked like a black piece of cloth. "Stick you're foot out." Sam did, and he slid what appeared to be a compression sleeve over the joint. "This should do the trick. It'll take the pressure off the joint and give you back your range of motion."

Sam stood and applied his weight. There was absolutely not pain anymore. In fact, his leg felt like it could hold up twice as much as it used to. To test his newfound relief, he spin-back-kicked the bedside lamp next to him, spending it flying against the wall and smashing into little pieces. "Nice…" Sam sighed. "Nice…"

The old man just stood there looking at Sam like he was an idiot. "You can put your pants back on now." he said.

"Oh…right." Sam got dressed again and strapped his boots back on.

The old man leaned against the wall and started chewing on another toothpick. "So…" he said, "How's that little apprentice of yours doing? Kana, right? She having any rib bruising still?"

"No, she's been fine for a couple of months now."

"Good." he said. "That's good to hear. She's a tough like girl, isn't she."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"You treating her well? Not giving her any unnecessary problems?"

"No, she's tough enough on her own." Sam said. "What's with the toothpicks? Quit smoking?"

"What? No, I didn't quit." he said. "I just ate."

"Oh…"

"You and Kana being safe?" he asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Safe? I guess were safe just as much as the next assassin is safe out there. What kind of question is that?"

"No….not that you idiot." he said. "Are you two using condoms and birth control? That kind of safe?"

"What!?"

"Hey, don't act all surprised." he said. "By your reaction, it sounds like you two are having sex."

Sam sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It'd be hard to call you stupid. It really is."

"I've known you since you were small enough to crawl through a vent shaft. I've never seen you look at anyone they way you looked at her. It was only a matter of time." he said, like it was complete common sense.

"We don't…we don't actually have sex." Sam said, and for the first time in a long time, he sounded embarrassed. "We are….close, but we don't actually go that far."

"Ohhhhh…" The old man nodded his head in approval. "Look, Sam, I understand that you two fell in love, but if the brotherhood finds out, they will probably separate you for at least a while. You two aren't old enough to request permission for maternal induction. I know assassins don't grow on trees, but maybe you two should….think all this over until later."

"What's there to think about?" Sam asked.

The old man got up off the wall and sighed. "Sam…you've become quite the competent assassin, but…..you're still a kid, and she's even younger than you. I just want you to be careful and don't get carried away. That's all."

Sam stood and nodded his head in understanding while putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know what you're trying to say." he said. "I'll definitely take it to heart."

"Good." he patted him on the back and said, "You look like you're in the middle of something important, so I won't keep you."

They walked out of the building together, and, as Sam mounted his bike, the old man said, "Come by and see me sometime. Bring Kana with you. The three of us should talk."

Sam started his bike up and revved the engine a few times. "You got it." he said. "Take care, old man."

The old man watched as Sam drove away in a flurry of red and white down the street. He leaned against the wall and threw the toothpick down. He pulled out a pack of lights and placed a cigarette in his mouth "Take care yourself, kid." he said while lighting up.

-o0o-

The garage door was open when Sam got back to his shop, and all the bikes were accounted for. As he dismounted and danced around a bit on his leg, the small husky sleeping under the workbench in the far back yawned as he got up and looked at Sam as if to say, "You look stupid. What are you doing?"

Sam shrugged it off. It felt good to have his body back and not be in debilitating pain every time he moved. The injection kit he left in his toolbox before going inside.

Kana was sitting at the table, with her hands folded, staring off into space. He approached her from her front and waved. She jumped up, startled a bit, then sighed. "Oh…sorry Sam…I wasn't paying attention."

"Yeah, you weren't at all." he said, "Anyone could have just walked in. You left the garage and the kitchen door open."

She stood and walked up to him, completely oblivious to his scolding. "Sam, do you ever…..ever talk to…to the people you've killed?"

He looked at her, perplexed and confused.

"You know, right before they die?"

"Ohh…and you feel like you're floating over dark clouds or something?" he asked. "Yeah, I've been there before." he said, like it was an everyday thing for him. 'Wait, hang on, did you kill someone?!"

She put her hand up in defense and shook. "I wasn't planning on it or anything!" she said. "I had to…otherwise….he would have…."

It was obvious she looked a little shaken up, she he sat her down at the table and asked, "What exactly happened?"

She wiped her eyes then said, "I went to scout the building like you told me to." she said. "There was no view of the roof, so I went up to the roof of the building of some business firm. I had to use the cargo elevator and break a lock to reach the roof. I figured I could get out of there before anyone noticed I was up there, but a security guard spotted me. I tried to play dumb, but then he tried to…to…"

"Shh.." Sam said. "I get it. Don't worry. You're fine. What happened next?"

"Well….when he tried to do…that….I killed him." She stopped and looked up at him, and he nodded for her to go on. "Then…I felt like I was in limbo, floating, and he was right there at my feet, and….I said something weird."

"Um..ok, well what did you say?"

"I said…um….it's weird, so don't think I'm crazy, but I said, 'Rest in Peace. God only knows you need it where you're going."

Sam grabbed her hands on the table and rubbed her knuckles with his palm. "Look, I honestly don't know why that happens sometimes….It happens to me too." he said. "Try not to think about it. That was my mentor's advice, and it's the only advice I can give you that will actually help."

She looked up and him and asked, "Really? Are you sure?"

He patted her on the head and nodded. "Yeah. How bout you tell me what you found out." he said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Well…" she sighed, regaining her composure, "The roof has a modern style penthouse complete with pools and even a basketball court. If there's supposed to be a party of some sort up there, it's definitely not some formal charity ball."

Sam rubbed his head and looked up in thought. "Odd place for someone in danger to hide out." he said. "Doesn't seem like the safest place to hide."

"Maybe that's why they asked for your help." she said.

"Makes sense." he said. "Did you notice anything odd or different?"

"Not a thing." she said. "It seems pretty standard for a rich person. Nothing really stood out to me. Sorry, I wish I had more to say."

He stood and grabbed his jacket off the rack by the door. "Don't worry about it." he said while sliding his arms threw the sleeves and pulling the hood over his head.

"We heading out again?" she asked.

"Yeah. We still have to get sized for our clothes, and I need to stop by the bakery."

They both hopped on Sam's slightly bigger Yamaha, and together they slowly rode out onto the street. After about half a minute, Sam stopped in front of the bakery and parked the bike by the curb. He walked inside with Kana in tow, and approached the front counter where Akiyama sat humming to herself and reading a book.

"Oh, good afternoon, you two." she said, unnaturally radiant. "Stopping by for lunch?"

"No, actually," Sam paused, "I came by to say that we need to take a rain check on dinner tonight."

"Oh, that's too bad." she said. "Did something come up?"

"Yes. We have to go out of town again, and I'm not sure how long we'll be gone."

"Oh, I see." she said, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that."

Kana smiled and said, "But, we'll come by and have dinner sometime when we get back."

Sam nodded his head. "IS that alright with you? Can we reschedule for a little while?"

Her disposition perked right back up again when she heard that. "Oh, absolutely! Please feel free to stop in anytime and impose."

"Thank you." Sam started to turn around. "We have to go, but thatnk yo for understanding."

"Oh, it's not a problem." she said. "Please take care now and have safe travels."

"We will." Kana said. "Thanks again."

They walked out and got back on the bike with Sam in front and Kana with her arms around his waist behind him. They rode back out into the street and headed towards the large bridge that separated their prefecture from the more affluent part of town. The traffic became steadily worse as they search around for the business card's address. It wasn't until they passed a sign for a mall did Sam realize were the store was.

A large outdoor but expansive shopping mall was flooded with women and girls clothes shopping, holding bags, sipping drinks, and talking non stop. Rich women and girls who had lots of disposable income and no need for school all gathered during the workday in the mall filled with only the most expensive and posh stores available to the world. As Sam and Kana parked in the parking garage on the bottom floor filled with luxurious but small black and silver cars, they knew this was a part of town they had never been in before.

While they walked through the mall's walkways, Kana said, "Wow…this doesn't feel natural at all."

Sam agreed. "Yeah….It's making me feel a bit nauseas."

"Me too. Let's get out of here as soon as possible."

The store they were searching for was the smallest, but probably the most expensive. Kana walked inside first and was immediately met with the disapproving gaze of an older, but thin man trying appear to be a trending young twenty year old. When he saw Sam's young, broad, slim and built figure walk through the door, he perked up and smiled childishly. "Mmmm…" He sounded like a would be girl's voice.

"Well hello to you." he said to Sam, making a slight provocative gesture with his index finger.

"_Ah damn-it…."_ Sam thought. _"God I hate these weirdo fruitcakes."_ After pulling out the business card, Sam handed it to the man and asked, "I'm at the right place, right?"

He looked it over. "You sure are." he said. "And even if you weren't, it'd be a shame for you to leave so soon."

"She and I need to get sized." he said.

"Are you two aware of the cost for a suit or dress from here?"

"It's already paid for."

"Oh." the man snapped his fingers. "You two must be friends of Kenji. That man is quite the rude bull, but his money is good." A small elderly woman came out of the back carrying measuring tape around her neck and the "fruitcake" told her, "Take this little lady and give her….hmm…the red and black looks good on them….try something along those lines, but go with silver. It'll match her hair perfectly." The woman nodded and gesture Kana to follow her into the back. Sam nodded for her to go, and Kana slowly followed. "Now…for you."

Sam was about ready to punch this guy in the face.

"How about we make you two match." he said. "I really like your hair, by the way. I don't think you know just how…..tasty you look, heehee."

"_Ughhhhh…..You got to be kidding me."_

-o0o-

Sam walked out of the dressing room wearing a well black suit with a shiny smooth red threaded shirt and silver white tie. He looked himself over in the mirror and actually nodded in approval. Clothes were definitely not one of his priorities, but if there ever was such a thing as looking sharp, he fit the description.

"My my my!" the man said in approval. "You look ravishing."

"Would you stop talking like that?" Sam asked politely. "I don't want to have to hit you."

"You wouldn't dare!" he said in mock fear, "If you wanted to, I wouldn't…stop…you."

"Fucking Christ…." Sam swore in English while covering his eyes in frustration. He was about to unleash a verbal blitz of physical threats right before Kana walked out her dressing room.

What Sam saw before him sped his heart up and caused slight perspiration. His eyes widened and his breathing stopped. Her hair had indeed grown since they met. It was just long enough to have two loosely braid twin tails fall rest just above her shoulders, and her hair was held to the side with a beautiful ruby laced ribbon. The red silky dress she wore came down like rose petals over her slim and graceful form, and a silver silk pedal like fabric melded together across the red giving off a beautiful contrast. She looked radiant, and the older gay man clapped in joyous approval.

"Wow…." Sam said. "That's….uhh haha…..That's quite the dress."

"You look very nice as well, Sam." she said, blushing from her exposure in such garments and his own very commanding and handsome aura.

"Sounds like you two are going to quite the party!"

-o0o-

That evening

There were valets running all over the place and rich men with slim and pretty escorts all got out of their expensive cars. With 10,000 yen bill tips, the valets were making out like bandits for only one night of parking cars. Everyone's head outside turned to see what the awful noise of a motorcycle was doing there.

Sam drove up and slowed to a stop in front of a very shocked and confused valet. He dismounted and helped Kana off who had been sitting with both legs over one side of the bike. This wasn't the safest way to ride, but it sure made an entrance and a show for the rest of the dressed up aristocrats.

Sam handed him the key to the bike, but the valet wouldn't take it. "Sir, I can't park this. What am I supposed to do with this."

The valet had a point, and Sam thought about it for a second before he said, "Keep it."

With Kana's arm around the crook of his elbow, they walked inside together as everyone held doors open for them. The other party goers all gave them strange looks like they didn't belong, until for out of no where in the lobby, Kenji appeared and waved them down.

"I'm glad to see you to could make it a little early." Kenji said, wearing a white suit with a red tie and black shirt. "You two look like quite the couple tonight, huh."

They both sort of looked away in embarrassment. "Were…were not used to standing out." Kana said.

"And that's a good thing." Kenji said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Come on, I'll take you to the private elevator."

They walked on red and gold carpet while passing thousands of crystals and diamonds that made up the chandeliers of the lobby to the private elevator. There was even an elevator operator who controlled the lift with a key.

Kenji nodded to the operator and he opened the door for them. "Step inside." he said before the doors closed. "So, the VIP arrived a few minutes ago before you. You won't get to formally meet him, but I'll let him know who you are."

"Is he one of us? Sam asked. "I'd like to at least no that much."

"Of course not." Kenji said. "Let's just say he used to work for the other guys."

"He was a Templar?" Kana asked.

Sam turned and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Kenji nodded. "Yeah. He defected and decided to offer us information for protection. It happens sometimes more than it used to. When we get up there, stay alert, but don't get too close to the man I approach. If anyone tries to serve him and him only, stop him, and tailor the waiter and knock him out when he's out of sight. I was worried earlier about someone shooting down from the other tower to us, but there're a crime scene up there now, so the police are everywhere over there."

Sam gave Kana a knowing smile and she returned it.

"Don't follow me too close when we get out there." The trio could feel the private express elevator slow down, and Kenji said one last thing before the doors opened. "Lets have a party."

* * *

The lenght of this chapter has made it a long night for me. Please review and leave your thoughts behind for me to ponder appreciate. I truely do appreciate the imput you readers give me and it's a nice treat. I'll try to update soon, but school is right around the corner. I will make every and all attempts to update just as frequently as I have before, just for you.


	17. Nightmare in the Sky

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. School started, and I hardly find enough time in the week to finish a long update like this one. Thanks to all my readers who bare with me during the good times and the bad.

Copyrights of everything mentioned are respected.

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Chapter 17

It really was a party. Men in very lavish and sharp suits scattered the courtyard complete with a pool in the center full of young women scarcely dressed in the heated water. The night sky was pitch black against the horizon, but the energy level and intensity of the small scattered crowd nearly confused the three exiting the elevator. Women as guests of the party wearing stylish and expensive cocktail dresses, not to be confused with the entertainment, crowded together holding cocktails among handsomely dressed men with sly smiles on their faces. If they weren't entertainment now, they soon would be. Disturbingly enough, a few people around an ornamented table with flowers by the pool took turns cutting lines and snorting the powder like there was no tomorrow. Inside the pool house were guests a bit older and less wild having drinks by an open bar with more etiquette. Their drinks, however, were not the typical vodka martini. Some people ordered cocktails with names Sam had never heard before and didn't even know could exist. The party was more like a night at a lounge club. Just like a lounge, there was a back room guarded by a man in a black shirt inside. A room usually used for things done best without an audience.

"Uh…what is this?" Sam asked, looking around.

Kenji smiled Sam's uncomfortable expression and said, "I know, it's not what you expected."

"Sure as hell wasn't." he said, putting at hand on Kana's shoulder when he saw some of the young men getting fresh with some drunk women. "This….this is…awful."

"Look, I'm sorry." Kenji said, "My contact wanted to meet here."

"Why?" Sam asked. "Why this place of all places?"

"He said he'd feel safest in a surrounding like this." Kenji said.

"I'm not buying it." he said. "This place doesn't feel right….Either your contact is a night freak, or he wants to get caught. Best case scenario, one of these drugged up idiots is going to do something to get the authorities attention. Why couldn't we have met at a basement bar or something. This is way too high level."

"Exactly why he picked this place." Kenji said. "Who would try and kill anyone here? If anyone did die, it'd just be some screwed up party casualty. No one would be dumb enough to set up a kill here. Each one of these guests are rich enough to have their own private security. This party was the perfect cover. " He leaned in closer to Sam's ear and whispered, "Don't try anything rash with any of these people. We don't need any attention ourselves."

"Does your contact plan on staying up here all night?" Kana asked.

Kenji shook his head vigorously. "No…no…well, at least I don't think he will." He pointed to the open bar and said, "Sit over there for a couple of minutes. I'm going to go find our man."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "Fine…" he said in agitation while walking away. Kana followed him towards the clear black glass bar, and they sat down. Kana wanted to say something, but as his wandering eyes scanned the crowd, his expression was stern as if to say, "Not talking right now."

She just sat there and fidgeted uncomfortably in her dress. All the other women were taller and older than her. Something about her small stature and obvious age restriction to the vices of the party made her feel like she was standing out more than necessary.

The bartender was no exception to the oddity sitting before with grey hair and a red dress. His first suspicions were immediately cast aside, since this was a private party, so serving her would hold no guilt on his part. "Excuse me." he said to the new pair that had sat down in front of him. "Can I get you anything?" Sam turned around a bit faster than he needed to and shook his head. Kana saw his reply and answered the same. "Well, you have to order something." he said. "You can't sit in front of the counter and not drink."

"Is there some rule against that?" Sam asked. "You can scold me for not drinking, but you won't say anything to those people." He said, pointed to the coked out group.

The bartender leaned forward and sighed. "Their parents own this place." he said. "It can't be helped. Sorry."

Sam sighed. "Ok, fine. How a tonic water."

The bartender looked at him with a cynical expression. "You don't drink?"

"Nope."

"Then why the hell are you two here? This is party after all."

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I was under the impression this would be more much more formal."

"You and me both." he said. "They paid me to work tonight, and I hadn't see this coming." He turned to Kana and asked, "You want the same?"

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

The bartender's head ducked under the counter. When he surfaced, both of his hands held two glasses. He set them down on napkins and walked away to attempt to communicate with a woman in a drunken stupor trying to order but failing to form even a sentence.

Sam sipped his drink and turned to face the scattered crown again. The noise had started to elevate, and now a very hyped up man with a dizzy girl on his arm walked back to the back room. The security detail stepped aside to let them pass without changing his expression. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, at least as far as he could tell. Who's to say what's out of the ordinary at a party with cocaine and alcohol. _"Maybe I should look for a sober face somewhere…"_ he said. _"That wouldn't fit the picture."_

"Sam?"

He turned to look at her, broken from his thoughts. "Yeah? See something?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No…" she said. "…What are we supposed to be looking for exactly?"

"Not sure." he said. "Just keep watching for now." After a few minutes of more mindless spectacles of people three or four waiters appeared from the elevator carrying metal trays and wearing black and white service uniforms. Sam got up and walked in the direction of where he thought Kenji had gone. "You armed?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Find out more about all this." he said. "Come on."

They walked passed some slow moving drunken men by a table next to the pool and saw that there were two staircases on either side of a very small separate balcony below them with café style tables and chairs. No one else was down there, providing a nice secluded spot. Kenji leaned against the railing overlooking the city while talking to a nearly bald man with very little white hair. His body wasn't corpulent or withered, but age had slowed him down. His shoulders and arms were not young anymore.

"Excuse me." Sam said. "Enjoying the cool breeze?"

Kenji's face wasn't angry, but rather worried. The old man in a very fine black tuxedo nodded as Sam braced his arms against the railing. "It's a bit too cool." the man said, voice a bit hoarse from age. "I'm surprised we actually got a night of clear skies during the raining season."

Sam agreed. "I noticed that too."

"Your associate told me why you're here. He also said there seems to be a problem?"

"Umm…Sam, something's come up." Kenji said, looking around, then hunching over the rail to keep the conversation as private as possible. "Someone cut the power to the elevators after we came up."

"What?"

"Shhh… not so loud." he said. "I told you to stay put."

"I'm not sitting around all night waiting for something to happen." Sam said. "I'm not being impatient, I just don't think it's a good idea. The longer we stay here the better chance of something going wrong."

"You weren't wrong…" Kenji stood on his tiptoes to peer over the flooring over the top floor. "Did you see those waiters get off the elevator?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded, looking knowingly at Kana. "What about them?"

"They're not serving anyone." he said. "They just keep looking around. Are you two armed?"

"We are." Sam said. "I have everything on me."

"I only have a small blade." she said, pulling up the split inseam of her dress to reveal a garter belt with a small blade clinging to her thigh. "It's not much."

Kenji motioned for everyone to huddle down below the railing. "Okay…I saw a scaffold below us about eight stories down." He said while taking his watch off and strapping it to the railing. He pointed to the VIP and said, "Mr. White, I need to grab onto this as hard as you can and lower yourself down." Sam realized what the watch was when Kenji unhooked the outer casing and pulled out a strand of wire. The old man looked nervous as he took watch handle from Kenji. He was about to sling a leg over before looking down and freezing up. "It's either this fight with us." That gave the man enough incentive to gingerly climb over. Kenji managed his decent speed with a button on the side of the watch.

Once his feet touched the scaffold floor, he gave a wimpy thumbs up. Kenji stood up and took a deep breath with his eyes closed. "Okay….four waiters and three of us." he said while taking his jacket off and unbuttoning his collar. Sam caught on to Kenji's mood and started doing the same. "I'll take the two by the pool. Sam, you take the two inside the lounge."

"What about me?" Kana asked.

"You aren't very well armed." Kenji said. "Stay out of the way, but if you see an opening, take it." He looked back up at the waiters and sighed. "The Templars sent these guys. I wasn't expecting any one to come, but it looks like the Templars here have some sort of connection with the service here…..Sorry, I really didn't see this coming." he said.

"I'm not surprised," Sam said, "So don't worry about it. What are we up against?"

"Be warned, expect to get hurt. Tactical armor and small firearms, plus a fair amount of hand to hand training." Kenji said. "We should be able to take them, but just remember they only have a few weak spots."

"Damnit….I was seriously hoping for an easy day." Sam sighed to himself while rotating his neck. Kenji went up the right stairs and hunched down. Sam took the left and did the same. "Stay down here." Sam said to her. "I know you want to fight, but don't come out if you have to." Kenji gave him the signal with a saluting gesture.

They both rushed to the top and ran passed people by both sides of the pool by shoving them to the side. Some of them fell into the water, making a loud commotion. The waiters turned, noticed the two men charging them, and dropped the trays. Four men, eights hands, and eight pistols.

There hadn't been very many times Sam was truly scared of a situation. One time he had to jump off a freeway overpass and onto a truck, resulting a ripped arch. The injury and adrenalin dump in his system almost stopped his heart. This was one of those times.

Bullets flew through the air and passed his ear with lightning speed. The heat coming off the projectiles ripping through the air turned his eyes cold. His instincts kicked in immediately.

A scared woman, partially hysterical due to alcohol, screamed as Sam grabbed her arm and whipped her around in front of his own body. Multiple bullets penetrated her body and blood spurted everywhere in all directions. Her body shook violently as the screams stopped before toppling over.

Sam had already moved on into a sprinting roll behind a marble pillar forming part of the entrance of the lounge. The bullets broke pieces of marble off the wall like clay pieces being smashed. The shooters didn't seem very interested in aiming down the sights and actually hitting their targets. They just spent their clips as fast as they could before dropping the guns.

People screamed, cried, and even laughed as they ran back and forth. Sam couldn't see where Kenji had gone or what happened to him. Gun shots still ripped through the air, but on Sam's end, they stopped. Once he realized that, he quickly turned the corner and sprinted forward.

One waiter had already jumped off a chair into and spun around in the air with a powerful kick aimed directly for his head. Sam barely ducked in time and could feel his hair being whipped back by the man's shoe. They second behind him had knives in both hands and skillfully slashed at Sam. The first blade slashed low, and Sam caught the blade with both hands and tried to twist his wrist. Unfortunately, this man wasn't an amateur. He flicked the knife up in the air and few inches, slipped out of Sam's grip, caught the knife, and thrusted forward. Sam turned to the side to avoid the strike, but the blade still cut his side, leaving a deeper red stain on his red shirt. The first kicked out both his knees from behind with a single kick, leaving Sam on his knees as he was bowing . The wielding the knife smiled as his partner put him in a headlock. Sam's first reaction was to reach up and pull on the man's arm in an attempt to breath again.

"Pitiful." he said before thrusting the knife forward.

As his face turned red, Sam brought his right hand down with lightning speed and blocked the knife towards the ground. The blade imbedded itself into the floor between his knees. His other arm came up with a punch to the man's face, sending him back a few feet. This gave him enough room to head butt the other holding him in a headlock. As the assailant's gripped loosened around his neck, Sam swung an around his waist and through him over his shoulder into the air. The man flailed violently in the air as Sam's hidden blade stuck down into his torso before hitting the floor. The did land with a hard thud, but Sam's blade did nothing more than slid off the body armor and rip his shirt.

It was too late before he realized the bad position he was in. The man standing laughed and stepped back while lowering his weapon, and Sam looked around frantically for a reason why nothing worked. His mind was too caught up in the moment to realize the man on the ground now had his hands around the knife in the floor. While trying to sit up, the slashed at Sam's leg, resulting in a deep gash above his knee in the quad. Sam lost all muscle support in his leg and he staggered back while gripping his leg.

As if his body understood the peril, a new rush of adrenalin dumped into his bloodstream. Suddenly, the pain was out of his mind, and he was back on his feet again. The standing ran towards Sam and slashed back and forth with precision and technique. Sam managed to block each strike with minimal cuts, but a flip kick to his chest caused him to stagger back and drop his arms. The Templar stepped forward and slashed with both knives across Sam's throat, barely clearing skin by millimeters. As his body whipped forward to a more balanced stated, Sam caught one knife baring down on his head from above and twisted the entire arm over, forcing the man to bend completely over with his wrist twisted out to the side. Sam grabbed the knife from that hand and threw the blade down as hard as he could into the man's back. It would have been an excellent counter, except for the body armor. This time, Sam wasn't too naive. The slipped from his grip, but Sam staggered behind him and slid the knife across his throat. The other ran up threw a powerful knee strike up as high as he could, but Sam rotated the first 's body into the line of fire while jumping to the side into a roll.

As Sam stood, the Templar standing saw his dieing partner clutching at his neck and pulled out a couple throwing knives from inside his shirt. Sam ran out towards pool and ducked behind an overturned table as three knives all made contact with the table's glass. The glass wasn't enough to stop all the force of the blades, and one blade ended up stuck in Sam's let shoulder. He painfully pulled the knife out of the new wound and his shoulder dropped like dead weight. The started to laugh, but when Sam switched the knife up to his right hand, he stopped.

The knife throw was nearly perfect. The blade didn't go directly into the left eye socket like he had aimed for, but through the cheek was good enough for the moment. While writhing on his knees violently and screaming hysterically, Sam slowly walked up to the man and sent his right hidden blade into his neck. The screaming stopped and the man fell over in a bloody heap.

With his two enemies down, Sam looked around just in time to see Kenji's smooth execution strike. He had sidestepped a sloppy strike after softening up his opponents, and as one of the Templars fell forward after missing with his knife swipe, Kenji threw up and arm from his waist to palm the man's face. Sam could see his hidden blade protruding from the back of his head. The hidden blade had successfully killed the man, but the knife had cut across Kenji's chest deep enough to spray blood. The pain and shock started to set in, and Kenji stepped backwards while bending over.

The last and lone Templar mercenary noticed his plight of solidarity, and decided to make a break for it down the stairs towards the balcony. Obviously, he didn't know where that led.

Sam's eyes widened, and he realized where he was going. He glanced at Kenji knowingly and he glanced back. It was then they both realized that neither of them were in any condition to run back to the balcony in time to save Kana. Sam's breathing had become extremely labored due to the slight blood loss, and Kenji couldn't stand up after falling on his butt, clenching his shirt in desperation.

About all of Sam's adrenalin had been wiped out, but when he realized Kana's situation, he felt new strength flow into him, but weak and depleted. He felt enough strength to keep standing and stagger forward with his right hand raised. In a last desperate attempt, he tried to aim with his hidden wrist gun, but the Templar had long ducked out of sight below the deck he was standing on. As he got closer as closer to the edge of the stairs, the pain in his leg become worse and worse. A deep, penetrating fire throbbing through his leg, and he felt himself collapse at the foot of the stairs.

His head hit the ground hard, but as the blur before him cleared. He could see a short but slim figure in flowing red spinning and twirling. Another second, and his eyes cleared up. Kana had ducked lower under the double slash that had almost gotten Sam's chest earlier, and with her small blade in her right hand, she cut the arch of the Templar's right ankle. He screamed and fell forward on his right knee just as Kana spun upwards and slashed the Templar's throat as he fell forward. Now, as his hands clenched his throat with wide and scared eyes, Kana brought the knife down as hard as she could into the man's skull. Sam could hear a sickening crunch as blood sprayed out of his head for a brief moment like a sprinkler.

Kana staggered backwards, attempting to catch her breath. When she looked to her side and saw Sam's collapsed form, she got up faster than she thought possible and rushed over to his side.

"Sam!" she screamed when she saw the blood all over his clothes. "Sam! Get up!" Something devilish inside him had to laugh, and he let out a very painful chuckle while she pushed him up to a sitting position. She thought he was crying. "Sam!"

"Shhh…*cough*….shhhh…heh heh heh….*cough*…"

She couldn't hear him over the hysteria of the remaining crowd trying to reach stairs or open the locked elevator, but with his finger over her lips, she understood the message. She started to cry, her chin quivering and tears running down her cheeks as she looked over his body. "Why….why are you laughing!? Damn you! Why are you laughing!?"

"That was…..*cough cough*….that wasn't half bad…" he said hoarsely, his hand on her cheek. "Shhh….stop crying. You need to help me up." She didn't move from her position, but sat next to him, hugging his neck as tight as possible. "Ow….owwwwwwwww…Kana!" he choked out. She finally let up and her grip and he gasped. "You have to help me up."

She nodded, more detached and unaware of what she was actually doing as she helped pull him up to his feet. Her mind was only really focused on his moaning and groaning from the wounds she was taking in.

Kenji had walked over, breathing funny but otherwise appeared fine. "Sorry Sam." he gasped while hooking Sam's arm over his shoulder. He pulled his belt off his waist and tightened it over Sam's bleeding leg. Sam pulled his own belt off and did the same thing right above the first one. "Can you walk?"

He grimaced and flinched as he put weight on his leg, but nodded and looked around. The crowd was going berserk and dead bodies littered the courtyard. It took a few seconds to regain some sanity and say, "Now what?"

Kenji shook his head, still catching his breath. "I don't know….There's no other way down except for the elevator. "

Kana put an arm around Sam's waist when he staggered against the railing. "Are you alright?" she asked, then turned Kenji. "We can't stay here. He's bleeding bad!"

"I know! Just let me think!" He looked around and couldn't think of anything. The crowd cluttered the elevator door, and the only thing waiting for them when they got downstairs would be more s, or worse; the police. "Ahhhh! Damn-it!"

Sam could see, from his position bent over the railing, the VIP still on the scaffold way down there. He was trying to yell at them something, but Sam couldn't make it out. "Wait….I have an idea." he said. "There."

Kenji looked over the side. "Where?"

Sam pointed again at the scaffold. "There! We can lower down eight stories, break the window, then use the cargo elevator on that floor!"

"Perfect!" Kenji shouted. "The cargo elevator doesn't go up to the top floor, so police won't be using it."

"Plus…*cough*….it goes to the basement. We can get out without anyone noticing, at least, if we get lucky enough." Sam said.

"We have to try." Kana said, panicking. "We can't stay up here forever."

Kenji took his shirt off, then swung his legs over. He used the shirt to grip the wire tight without slipping or burning his hands and slid down. He crashed with a loud clanging sound on the scaffold, and one side of the metal frame fell a few inches.

"Break the window!" Sam screamed. Kenji did by using the forearm guard of his hidden blade. "GO!" Kenji grabbed the VIP and ran inside the dark floor. Sam took off his shirt, grimacing and screaming, ripped it up, then handed it to Kana.

"Wait, Sam I can't. I'm not leaving without you." she said, pushing the shirt back.

"I never said I was staying." he said, holding the other piece of his shirt. "Go. We don't have all day."

She swung her legs over the side and slid down. Her weight wasn't as harsh on the scaffold, but the sounds the metal was making told Sam the machine wasn't happy. She looked up, then ran inside through the broken glass.

Sam bent over the railing, then flipped his body over while hooking the shirt onto the wire at the same time. It was risky, but there was no chance of his swinging his leg over. His grip on the shirt was a bit too loose, and his body hit the scaffold like a bag of rocks. He screamed in pain and tried to get up, but felt the scaffold's left side falling. Kenji caught his outstretched arm just in time before the scaffold fell to the ground from what felt like miles high up.

"Gotcha!" Kenji said through gritted teeth while pulling Sam's limp body through the window. Kana grabbed onto his waist once he was high enough, and they body heaved back to drag him inside. "Can you walk?" Kenji asked, pulling him up to his feet.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Sam screamed, staggering forward. "Let's go! No time to ask how we're all feeling!"

Sam hobbled as fast as he could towards the hallway passed an empty bed and fridge, then opened the door. The hallway's light almost blinded him, and a few people in the hallway gasped when they saw the four of them exit the room and run down the hall. They turned a corner, passed an ice machine, then turned another corner. At the end of the hall was a large door with a janitor's sign on it. Kana ran ahead while Kenji helped Sam limp forward and pressed the button. The elevator open just before Sam reached the door, and he slumped down on the elevator's floor as the doors closed.

The elevator started moving downward as Kenji and Kana both knelt down next to him and put their hands on his leg. Mr. White just stood by the door motionless and silent, watching Sam squirm and scream. Kenji held out his hand and said, "Rip up your dress!" Kana ripped the side of her dress off by her right leg and handed it to him. Kenji unhooked the belts and Sam cried out. In the depths of his screams. Kana grabbed his hand and squeezed as hard as she could.

Kenji wrapped the material around his leg as tight as he could and hooked the belts back around his leg. Sam bit down on his knuckles so hard it left blood trickling down his fingers. "Help me lift him up."

Kana obeyed and put and arm around him. They pulled up him up slowly, until he was standing on his own. "Can you walk?" she asked, now holding his hand.

He nodded, his face returning to it's natural paler color, and he said in an almost normal tone, "Yeah…*mmmgh*….that actually feels a lot better. Stings like hell, but I think I could even run if I had to."

"Good." Kenji said. "We're going to have to once these doors open."

"Why?" Kana asked, angry. "What's going to happen?"

"The police are going to swarm every entrance and exit to this place. We need to get the hell of here. Mr. White, do you think you can make it a couple blocks?"

"Yes. Do we need transportation?" he asked. "I have a car in the parking garage somewhere in valet parking."

"Do you know where it is?" Kenji asked. "We need to know!"

The VIP cringed at the yelling in such close quarters. "It has to be on the first floor." he said. "That's valet floor parking."

Sam's head reeled back as he screamed again and collapsed against the wall. His breathing became more labored and his face now dripped with sweat.

Kenji sighed, then slammed his fist into the side of the elevator once, then twice more as hard as he could, screaming. He grabbed the VIP by the collar and shook his violently. The man being shook cringed and looked away, terrified. "You better be damn fucking worth it!" he screamed. "I won't kill you, but if he doesn't make it…" he pointed to Sam, "…I know a little girl here who would be happy to cut your throat."

The man knew who he was talking about and looked directly at Kana's crying, angry face as she gripped Sam's hand again. "Kenji…*cough*…relax." Sam said in a hoarse exhale. "I'm just as pissed as you are, hell, even more, but killing him won't do anything. Besides, I still have questions of my own to ask him."

The little lights indicating the floor level was nearly reaching one. Soon, the light for the basement floor would come on. Kenji rubbed his face vigorously, then said, "Alright, here we go."

The door opened, and to everyone's surprise, no one was down in the basement floor. The showers for the employees and the locker room was empty. This meant the building had begun evacuating, and the police were on there way. Sam couldn't help but think they all lucked out. He wasn't sure if he could take much more.

A back door led to an alley with a dumpster, and Everyone could see the lights of police sirens closing in on the front entrance of the building. Kenji helped drag him the opposite direction passed the dumpsters, but the worst thing happened.

Sam started to slow down and become heavier. "Hang on…*cough*…hang on…*cough*…I need a second."

"We don't have a second!" Kenji said. "Move!"

Sam collapsed on the ground, arm outstretched towards the dark abyss of the alley. Kana turned around and ran back, sliding into a sitting position next to him, which couldn't have felt good on the pavement in what was left of that dress. "Sam! No Sam! Stop that! Get up!" she screamed, unleashed a volley of tears and wails.

He was desperately trying to say, "I'm fine." in a reassuring manner, but even his eye lids felt heavy beyond reason, and the blackness of the blurry alley overtook his senses. One second, he was thinking, the next second, he was gone. A limp body in an alley, motionless and still. His wound had broken open more in the elevator, and blood now started to pool on the ground under him.

-o0o-

It was like riding down a horribly tall slide at a park. Once he slid down, it was so much work to reach the top. When he did, he was so mentally exhausted that sliding down again was inevitable. Sam would later say, that was the only way he could describe his experience while slipping in and out of consciousness.

-o0o-

Kenji shoved Kana out of the way hard. She fell back and got up to her feet as he picked Sam up and flung him over his shoulder like sack of potatoes. She started to grab him by the arm and screamed, "Don't touch him!"

*Smack*

Kana stood motionless, eyes red and wide as the sea before the sun sets. Kenji's slap to the face had woken her up.

"You done?" Kenji asked, adjusted Sam's limp body over his shoulder.

She didn't respond, but just walked passed him down the alley with a blank face. Kenji motioned for the VIP to follow, and they started to run as quietly as possible when the cop cars stopped in front and policemen got out holding weapons. The darkness of the building's shadow did a fine job of concealing their silhouettes while they made their way to the back parking garage.

One as high as three stories, the garage only had one entrance. That entrance had a few valets hanging about with nervous and excited expressions. It was obvious they had heard about the commotion upstairs, but weren't allowed back in the building. When they saw the tattered and beat up assassins with their guest in tow walking passed them, they started blankly, nearly wetting their pants. The sight of three people and one, at least what looked like a dead person, walking right passed them without making eye contact sure would shock and confuse anyone.

"Wanna go home?" one valet asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but his voice cracked. "I think we should…uh..go home." he said while walking away, picking up speed into a jog

"Yeah, right behind you, man." the other said, catching up.

Kenji set Sam down on the ground and rubbed his shoulder. "Can you find your car?" Mr. White pulled out a key ring remote and pressed the button a few times. The honk and flashing lights of a car somewhere in the back told them where it was. Kenji hoisted Sam up again and said, "Hang in there, Sam. We're almost clear of this shit."

"I'll go get the car." Mr. White said, finally being of some use. "If you wait here, I'll bring the car around."

"Fine. Kana, go with him. Make sure he doesn't try and make a break for it."

She nodded, then followed the man farther into the garage. The only cars they passed were small Mercedes, Bentley coups, and any other high end Italian model small enough to drive the Kyoto roads. The lights of a silver Porsche in the corner kept going off as Mr. White kept pressing the button. He unlocked the doors, but Kana stopped him when tried to enter the drivers side door. Her hand was outstretched, waiting for him to give her the key.

"Can you dr-"

"Shut up and give me the keys!"

He gave them to her, and opened the passenger door.

Kenji had set Sam down again and was leaning against a car, watching Sam's head bob back and forth every so often, trying to say something. His eyes wouldn't open, as if his body was fighting against him to keep him asleep. Kenji could only shake his head and tap his foot impatiently for the car to show up.

Breaking hard and leaving a streak on the ground, Kana stopped in front of them. Kenji picked Sam up with all his remaining might and dropped him in the back seat. Once he crawled over the motionless body, he pointed towards the door and yelled, "Drive!"

The tires screeched as clouds of burnt rubber drifted up from the ground. The car lurched forward and drifted into a turn out of the garage, nearly slamming into a chain link fence. As car gained speed in the distance, farther and farther away from the sound of sirens, Kana's hands on the wheel clenched tighter and tighter until the leather cracked under her fingers.

-o0o-

Sometimes, an experience may not have actually lasted that long at all, almost a year or two could go by on the internal clock; like sitting in the hospital or drinking at a depressing bar. One hour turned into a month. Two hours turned into half a year. Any waiting by his bed for any motion or consciousness was torture. No, more like a soul numbing emptiness that drains away at any existence for living. As time went by, her time, it felt like, was getting closer to the point of eventual suicide.

This time, there was no guilt. There was no insecurity of unimportance. Anger. Just anger in its purest and simplest form. Yes, this was a war, but she wasn't ready to come to grips the fact he could die. Yet, there he was, slowly rotting away as the color and life drained from his face.

The old doctor had seen Sam the same day, and was shocked to see him come in unconscious and near death. As comforting as he tried to be at first for Kana, he decided it was best to just leave her alone by his bed. If Sam died, then she should be the one to see his passing. She should be the one to give him final rights. Two hours turned into three, and for her, almost an eternity of waiting, wishing, longing, and hoping had passed.

Finally, something broke the silence.

Kenji walked in with water and a few pills. "Take these. You're probably dehydrated."

"Not thirsty." she whispered hoarsely.

He shoved the cup and a hand with a couple pills directly in her face a few inches from her nose. "I don't know how much Sam babies you, but when I tell you to take the pills, you take the pills!"

Her head had been resting on the bed against his hand the whole time, and she finally sat up. "You pulling rank on me? Right now of all times?"

"You bet I am!" he said. "I hardly know you or Sam at all. To me, you're just his apprentice, so take these pills, damn you!"

She snatched the pills from his hand and gulped the water down, standing up and looking defiant, which wasn't much considering he had almost a fifty centimeter height difference on her. She wanted to scream and yell, maybe even hit the man. She wanted to say it was all his fault. She wanted to say that if he hadn't shown up that morning, non of this would have happened, and Sam would be fine.

She wanted to, but no words came out of her mouth. The last remaining steam had escaped her throat and she collapsed her head back on the bed, crying, wailing, and sobbing hysterically.

Kenji never wanted to go inside and disturb her, but he had to. Yes, Sam had been injured more severely than everyone else, but that didn't mean anyone could go untreated. She could have suffered from dehydration and exhaustion if he hadn't stepping in to be the mean guy. He pitied her, although he knew nothing about the two, and as he walked out of the room, he mumbled, "I'm so sorry about this…"

-o0o-

Sam, as he lay there, had no idea where he was or could feel a thing. His mind had retreated into a deeper part of the soul, far from the external senses and far from the material world. He almost felt a connection between himself and the existence of being dead, as if stuck in a limbo state of mind. What he saw he couldn't tell whether it was real, a figment of his imagination, or a real supernatural presence that only in his present state he could see.

That world of grey and white oblivion filled with a light fog that shrouded everything, yet nothing in all directions. He had been here before when he had killed a target and sent them on their way to the other side. Now, he wondered, was this his time to join them on the one way journey?

Something was happening to the wisps of fog. An entity began to swirl together from the mist and a rough silhouette started to form. Sam stepped forward and strained his eyes to get depth perception on what he was looking at. It formed a rough head, arms, legs, and a body in the shape of a descending wingless angel with arms outstretched.

"What the….hell?…."

The figure appeared to gain more shape and contour. Even some color formed together. A figure walked out of the remaining mist wearing white pants, and a white hooded jacket all made of a silky white reflected material. The hood over his face concealed his eyes, but Sam could see the salt and pepper beard, rough corners of the mouth, wrinkles, and strong square jaw.

"Who the….mentor?"

The figure pulled his hood down from his face, and Sam instantly knew who it was, but felt his breathing stop. When he did find his voice, he hoarsely asked, "H…H-How?"

"Sam…" the voice was almost exactly the same as he remembered. Strong, stern, booming, and a bit rough on the vowels, but there was an unmistakably relaxed and serene tone in his voice Sam had never heard before. "…been a long time, Sam."

"Mentor?"

The man nodded, smiling. "Who did you think I was? Hopefully not god."

Sam missed the joke. With mystified and awed eyes, he stared at him. "I don't understand…." Sam said, "How?….How is this…"

The figure had kept walking forward, and, when he was close enough, he put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I don't quite get it either."

Probably the most uncharacteristic thing he ever did, Sam clomped his hands around the man's strong shoulders. He felt a few tears rolling down his face, but never let out a cry.

The figure returned the embrace and pushed Sam away to look at him. "You've gotten to tall…." he said, eyeing him up and down. "….and strong. You have no idea how proud that makes me."

"I've missed you…." Sam whispered. "…You left too soon….I felt lost for the longest time."

The figure smiled and poked him in the chest as he said, "But you don't now do you? I've heard from the winds of fate that you met someone."

Sam nodded, coughing out a laugh and wiping his eyes. "Yeah….sure did." he said, smiling. "I really did, didn't I….."

The figure squeezed his shoulder and said, "Sam….you're not done."

"What?" he asked, "What do you mean I'm not done?"

"I mean, you're not done." He said. "As much as I'm glad to see you, you shouldn't be here."

"Here…..Where is here, exactly?" Sam asked. "I've seen this place before, but this is so much more….up close…"

"This is the passing." His mentor said. "This is where we all come to finish our lives."

"Finish?" Sam asked. "So, does that mean I'm-"

"No, it doesn't." he said. "It means you need to make a choice. Sam, you need to go back. I can't take you with me."

"Mentor….wait, please!" The figure had back away from him, and Sam felt like his feet wouldn't step forward. "Don't go yet!"

"You cannot cross just yet." he said, smiling. "You should be happy! No one wants to die young!"

"Mentor! Wait! I want to go with you! I'm not done learning!"

"That's exactly why you should leave." he said. "Besides, someone is waiting for you."

Those words resonated in Sam's mind. He finally understood what he was talking about. This really was some sort of limbo, and he wasn't dreaming. At least, he wasn't exactly dreaming the conventional way.

"Ok!" Sam shouted out. "I'll go, but don't stay so far away!"

The figure started to turn into cloudy wisps again at the fingers. His body started to vaporize into trails of fog. Just before he vanished, he said, "I can't make any promises."

The cloud dissipated back into the rest of the underlining white fog, leaving Sam alone. He stood, looking around and saw nothing but oblivion in all directions. "No promises, huh….." Sam murmured, "….That's cold…."

The world he saw around him suddenly got dark. The clouds turned grey and become heavier. He felt the fog in the back of his throat choking him like breathing toxic fumes. While clutching at his throat for air, he collapsed to the ground, hacking and gagging. No matter how hard he tried, no air would reach his lungs.

At last, he felt his body give up, and he rolled over onto his back, still choking slightly as his eyes were surrounded by darkness. The light from his eyes turned pale and his expression deadpanned as parts of his mind shut down. He released his last breath of air, sighing out as the life from his body disappeared. In an instant, he was gone and the world around him floated away.

-o0o-

Sam sat up and gasped for as his eyes darted around the room and his hands tore the blanks from around his body. He knew he had just died from suffocation, but less than a moment before his mind completely shut down, clear and gloriously fresh air found its way into his body. His lungs recognized the gas mixture, and his brain told him to gasp as hard as he could. Still on instinct, Sam tilted his head back and took in more and more air, breath after breathe.

Kana had been sleeping on his hand the entire time, but when he jumped up, gasping and thrashing about, she jumped back. "You….You're awake!"

Sam caught just enough of his breath to calm down, but his chest still heaved up and down. _"Fuck me! That sucked! I think I was just resurrected!" _He turned his head and saw a girl with damp grey hair and tear streaks staining her cheeks. Her eyes were wide with surprise like she had seen someone get hit by lightening. She looked tired. Huge bags under her red eyes from crying had swollen up, but at that moment, she was very wide awake and confused.

Sam had seen her before somewhere, and he felt like he knew her well. Perhaps his mind was still rebooting, but something about looking at her touched his soul more than it registered something in his mind. He felt as if his soul belonged to her, and it was calling out for her. Calling out to be near her. He felt a longing to hug her, to kiss her, and to stroke her hair for no reason other than to just be there.

Finally, he remembered.

With arms out wide and ready, he braced himself for her tackling hug that knocked him back. With more force than ever before, she kissed him. Her arms circled around his neck in a tight embrace, and he felt her body in his arms heat up. She started to cry, and he instinctively ran a hand down her back as she wept in his arms like a hurt child.

As much as she would deny it, a hurt child was what she was at that moment, and it took the arms of her protector to heal the wounds in her heart that the knife of anger had cut open.

* * *

When I first started writing this story, I imagined Sam being more of an invinsible assassin, but now, I realize he's only human like the rest of us. Maybe one day...

I'd like to give a shout out to **mermer**. That guy can really write a review. I've never had such an inspiring and heartwarming message from someone like i got from him. Not saying that I don't appreciate all my feed back. I love and cherish everything you all send back to me. Special thanks to everyone for everything. I never would have ever finished this chapter without your support and love for the Assassin's Creed.


	18. Returning the Favor

I want to esspecially thank Lisa and Mermer for their loyal fanship and reviews. Thankyou you two very much for the sweet things you said. Both of you are too kind and generous. If I could, I would hug you both.

I would love to pour my personal thoughts into these author's notes, but I think readers would rather just read the story than to listen to me blab my feelings, so here is the next installment.

Assassin's Creed is a registered trademark, and not affiliated directly with this story.

* * *

Chapter 18

Night had once again fallen, but for a reason he couldn't quite place a finger on, the darkness of night almost felt more home to him. With a rigid and precise early morning schedule, the overcast sky of day usually filled his vision, but during the passed couple of days, his internal clock had changed. Now, having slept for hours through the day, the night sky through his window greeted him as if to ironically say, "Good morning."

Slowly opening his eyes open while laying on his back, he cleared his dry throat and sat up, grimacing. The pain he felt was not at all new or unnatural to him, but this was the first time in a long time that the pain was at such a high degree. Sore and torn muscles, inflammation from impact blows, and the ever present deep cut in the muscle of his leg cause his drowsiness to be replaced with acute awareness of just how back his body hurt. In an effort to speed up the healing process, he declined painkillers after waking up and seeing Kana by his bed. Now that the pain had made its full opening appearance and had now taken its place on stage, he regretted his earlier decision.

She was still there, sleeping next to him, but instead of sitting in the chair with her head rested by the bed, she snuggled up- right next to him under the covers. There was absolutely no arguing with her, seeing as how her mind could only be changed by some sort of apocalyptic repercussion. Anything less, and there was no leaving the room.

"Aghh.." He groaned, throat scratchy and numb, sitting up, "Damn-it…damn-it all…"

She woke up next to him and slipped her feet over the side to stand. "Here," she said, hand outstretched.

He gratefully accepted the help up and puffed his chest out, trying to arch his back enough to realign some of his bones. There were a few distinct pops, each on making him flinch. "Ow….ow…ow!" That last one, the loudest one, looked like it really did hurt.

"Are you ok?" She asked while he slowly put his jacket on.

He nodded, still making a disgruntled face. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He said. "Just need to go to the bathroom."

"Need me to come with you?"

He looked at her, deadpanned. "If I can't even do this myself," he said, "Then There's no point in even getting out of bed at all."

The truth hit home. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but he really was in horrible shape. The old man had taken the liberty of giving Sam a couple of x-rays after he passed out again from his weird dream. Whatever that dream was seemed to perplex the old man more than anything. Having known Sam's mentor personally, the story seemed intriguing, but hard to believe.

Bad results. That all that came back. Yes, injuries are very common for assassins in the field, and yes they rarely if ever die, but that kind of lifestyle really takes a toll on the human body.

X-rays indicated lack cartilage brought on from impact and overuse. A few concussions had produced scar tissue in the lining of the brain. A large sinus behind the right nasal passage had collapsed from more than several consecutive hard strikes to the face. His left knee cap had cracked at some point and had not been treated. His lesser calf muscles connected to his shins had torn slightly off the bone from over use and collapsed arches. A lower rib had be forced out of alignment, but that was the least of Sam's permanent physical problems. His left shoulder muscle had over stretched tendons running back to his shoulder blades, probably from too long of a fall broken by grabbing onto a ledge.

All these things were normal too see on an assassin's body, but not all one person. The talk with Kana was very hard to do for the old man. He had to explain to her all of the health problems present, and after each explanation, she became more and more upset and angry.

Even after all that, and even after all the possible limitations Sam may permanently have, she never changed her mind about him. That's why she slept next to him in that bed, and why, despite all the diagnosis, she gave up and let him walk by himself out the door.

Someone, hood donned over their head, walked up behind them inside and slapped a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Nice work out there, guys." They heard the voice of a young man say. "I don't think anyone here could have pulled off what you two did." Sam and Kana turned around to see the admiring face of a young assassin, smiling, giving them a thumbs up. His face then turned a little more serious, and he said, "Seriously….you two have no idea how bringing this guy in helps. I don't really know what's going on, but rumors from higher up say this is some serious shit."

"I'm so fucking glad." Sam said in such a hoarse voice, it sounded like he was gasping. He started limping away from him and said, "That makes me…*cough*…feel so much better." The other assassin was probably the same age as Sam, but the recent years had made Sam's face hardened, deeper, and perhaps with a few more wrinkles than someone his age. He looked, thanks to his experiences and trauma, had aged him far more than his collogue. Because of this, for the first time, it was Sam's turn to say, "Thanks a lot kid, I needed that."

Kana, surprised by his extremely cold shoulder and sudden older appearance, apologized quickly, then ran to catch up with Sam, leaving the assassin alone in the hallway feeling pretty insensitive.

"Sam, wait." Kana put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped. "What was that? Why are you suddenly like this."

"Sorry…it's just…" he sighed deeply just as the old man got off the elevator in the hallway they were in and started walking towards them carrying a plastic bag. "….it may all be worth it for everyone else, but damn-it all. It wasn't worth it to me…*cough cough*…ow." She couldn't think of anything to say. The only thing she could think of was to hug his arm and just stand there, hoping he would calm down.

"Sorry to break this up," the old man said, "…but, could I borrow Sam for a while? Kenji is downstairs in the armory. He'd like to brief one of you as soon as possible."

Sam turned around, and instantly recognized that unusually nonchalant look on his face. "Kana, go ahead and see Kenji. Fill me in when I get back."

"Wait, are you sure?" she asked, holding his hand, "If it's all the same, I'd rather stay for now."

The old man leaned down and said, "It's alright. Nothings going to happen to him, as long as he doesn't trip or something. I got him, don't worry."

She looked to Sam, and he nodded, smiling halfheartedly. "Go ahead. We're not out of this yet."

She nodded. "Okay. See you when I can." she said, walking away, obviously a little upset.

The two men walked the other direction back towards the elevator. Once she was out of earshot, the old man said, "I feel bad for making her go like that, but I think you need this." he shook the plastic bag in his hand. He reached inside and pulled out a small pack of extra strength high potency nicotine gum. "If you won't take any painkillers, than at the very least take this. I'm in pain just watching you limp like that."

Sam snatched the box from his hand, ripped the cardboard flap open, pushed a square white piece of gum from the foil, and popped it into his mouth. "About time." he said.

They got off the elevator on the top floor and took the stairs to the roof. When they got up there, they could hear the sounds of cars, police sirens, and people all in the distance below them in the wind as the black night sky full of clouds greeted them. The only thing shedding any light up on the gravel filled room was florescent light over the door opening up the roof. The old man closed the door as Sam slumped against the wall and sighed, glad to take the weight off his right knee.

The old man sighed, pulling a fresh pack of red cigarettes out of the bag made by some obscure Japanese brand. After throwing the wrapper off the roof, he smacked the bottom of the pack against his hand several times before placing one in his mouth. With an old metal lighter, he lit the cigarette and took a slow draw of breath inward.

The smoke out of his mouth formed a white stream floating upwards like a ribbon towards the light. "Ahhh…." he sighed. "….Yeah…that's it."

Sam looked at him with blank stair.

"Ok, I get the message." the old man said, pulling out another, much short pack of cigarettes in silver packaging. He handed them to Sam, and he unwrapped the packaging. "Here. A pack of ultra-lights. I had a feeling, after all this hell, you'd want this."

"I don't smoke." Sam said, looking away.

"But you twice before." he said. "And I was there."

"Yeah…I remember. The first time was when I almost died for the first time after falling eight stories into an irrigation river."

"We all got a good laugh about when your mentor reported back."

"I wasn't laughing."

The old man drew his hood up over his head, and the light from the overhead bulb was only showed his lips and the cigarette between them. His red and black hood contrasted well with the red glow from the end of the cigarette.

Sam did the same with his hood and took the cigarettes from him. He borrowed the lighter and drew in a small breath as the end of the rolled up paper turned into a glowing red ember.

The hood drawn up over their faces was done as an act of reverence and respect for their fallen. Specifically, it was in respect for Sam's dead mentor. As they both blew smoke out of their lips into the air, they remembered the day he died, the same day Sam indulged himself as he did now.

The old man flicked the butt and ash fell onto the ground. "For what it's worth," he said, "I believe you when you said you saw him. I don't know how you did, but you did."

Sam looked at him, and found the lack of pain he needed to stand up straight and smile. "Thanks." he said before blowing out a small wisp and throwing the butt on the ground after only taking a few hits.

The old man sucked down another breath and sighed, letting the smoke escape in a cloud of ribbons. "You know something, Sam? I really envy your guts."

Sam shrugged and leaned against the door again. "Why?"

"There's someone downstairs that's waiting for you. Someone who loves you unconditionally. Someone who would probably disappear with you if you decided you've had enough."

"What are you trying to say?" Sam asked. "Are you suggesting that I might be thinking about leaving the brotherhood because I fell in love or something? This happens to..well, not a lot of people, but some."

The old man leaned closer to him. "All I'm saying is I wouldn't blame you if you did. Your mentor and I…well…..we never felt the need to leave. This is all we've ever known. You, Sam, have another reason to live. Hell, you could start a family, live a normal life, play baseball with your son, even start an actual legitimate bike shop." The old man turned to face him and pointed at his chest with the cigarette in his hand. "You could leave all of this behind and retire! I know you're young, but you do have options. You don't have to waste your life fighting an endless thousand year war against impossible odds and wake up everyday hurt and in pain!"

Sam stepped back from him. The old man's gestures and voice have become was too excited too fast. "Sam, think about it…..I happy, quite family with a loving wife and kids…." the old man slumped down in front of him, and Sam grabbed his shoulders so he wouldn't fall forward. "….I'm old, kid….but you're young….and you have so much more to live for than this mindless struggle day in and day out."

Sam pushed him up and pulled out another cigarette. He had forced himself to throw the first on away prematurely, but now, he needed the extra nerves to say what he had to say. He drew in a breath and blew out the first hit of smoke. "I wish I could…" he said, "…I really wish I could. I want more than anything to run away with her and spend the rest of our happy lives out of harms way without worrying out going outside without being attacked. I really do…but…..if I run away, then who else is going to help? Who else is going to fight for the rights of the innocent and weak? What about all the children you see walking to school? What about all the men and women at risk out there? Come one old man…don't tell me you forgot why the hell we even wear these jackets in the first place!"

The old man slumped against the door next to Sam and slid down to a sitting position. He drew in another breath and blew out slowly a ribbon of smoke to calm his agitated and excited nerves.

Sam looked at him, then sat down next to him, careful to keep his leg extended. He flicked the butt and sighed. "I know I haven't been around as long as you….but I'm not abandoning innocent people for selfish reasons. I love her….more than anything….and I would do anything for her, but we both know that it's not just our lives at stake. It's the rest of the world on the edge."

The old man started to weep silently, cupping his face with his hand.

"I know we aren't exactly winning this fucked up game of death, but at least were not losing either." Sam said, patting him on the leg. "I'm sorry you feel this way…."

They sat up there for a few more minutes, staring up at the sky, looking for at least a few stars to pierce the clouds. They both calmed down, and Sam flicked his butt away.

"Maybe I should retire." the old man said. Those words turned Sam's eyes wide and surprised. The level severity behind those words struck him out of nowhere. "I haven't considered it until now because I never had a life outside of all this, but maybe I could do some traveling, or something."

Sam held the pack of short cigarettes in his hand and handed them to the old man. "Here." he said with a heavy sigh, getting up to his feet. "You should probably have these. I don't need them." He opened the door and stepped on foot inside before stopping himself. "About that traveling idea…..well, it couldn't hurt."

"Wait." the old man said, getting up and facing Sam. "You think so?"

Sam nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah… it is."

The old man sighed. "I guess….I guess then…this is probably a goodbye. If I go….then….I really am gone."

Sam started to tear up and breathed out slowly. "Yeah….I guess so."

The old man put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Take care, kid. Take care."

"Maybe we'll run into each other somewhere in Europe or something…"

"Yeah…if you ever get an assignment there." the old man tired to laugh. "….you should go. Kana is waiting for you."

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah…you're right. She is, huh."

"Yeah…."

Sam stepped away and made a small waving gesture as the door in front of him closed, leaving the old man alone outside and him inside the stairwell. A sense of irony fell over the situation that Sam could almost feel. The only thing separating the closing thing he had to a father after his mentor died was a metal door that he could easily open, but the person on the other side of that door he would most likely never ever see again unless some divine miracle brought them two together somewhere on the globe. They both knew it. This really was goodbye forever.

He felt like crying, sad for the loss of such a close person, but a sense of happiness canceled out the depression. A happiness for his friend. A happiness to see that man free himself of the burden of war forever. His time had come, and one day Sam's time would come as well.

-o0o-

Kana made her way downstairs to the lobby. A few other assassins got up from couches and greeted her. Two of them she recognized, and one she didn't. Niki walked up to her and gave her a hug. Katsumi waved a hello, and the third person introduced himself as Toroto. His appearance was a lot like Sam's. His hair a thick long brown with black highlights running across his forehead down his left eye in the opposite directions Sam's hair flowed. His jacket was the same cut and design as everyone else, but his jacket was brown with black and red. His heavy washed blue jeans were tucked into his riding boots like Sam would wear, but the different color scheme he wore suggested he wasn't from Kyoto. Probably somewhere in the countryside up north.

"We heard about a high priority VIP coming into the city a few days ago." Niki said. "When we found out you and Sam were recruited, we volunteered for assignment."

Katsumi crossed his arms and looked away. He still didn't stand much taller than Kana, although it had been a few months since she had ran into the little kid. "Looks like you two could use some help." he said. "You can thank us later." Instead of a snide remark from the girl, he was met with a surprise hug by Kana. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and she gave him a grateful squeeze. "What the…hey!"

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Sorry….I'm just glad you all decided to help." she said. "I…I don't feel comfortable with Sam continuing this the way he is."

Toroto nodded his head. "Ah heard 'bout that from Kenji." he said, with what sounded like an Osakan accent. "Dat sounded like hell inna hand basket."

"You know Kenji?" she asked.

"We trained together sum months back at one of dem US military bases." he said. "Ah heard he was dealin down, and figured ah could throw in mah cards. Y'all kept Kenji safe out 'der. I've been worried 'bout him since he went all undercover and whatnot."

"Uh…" Kana looked at him, a little confused. "Uh…right….Speaking of Kenji, where is he? I heard he has a briefing I needed to see."

"That's what we're waiting for." Niki said. "Kenji told us to wait until everyone else got here."

"Everyone else?" Kana asked. "Who else is supposed to get here? How many people are coming?"

"Lotas a help, little'un." he said. "Ah get a good feelin there's gonna be one hell of a turnout."

Katsumi cleared his throat and shrugged off the awkward hug to speak. "Word is this VIP needs lots of protection. He must be worth a lot to us if we're supposed to expect backup."

"Wow….Well, Sam will be glad to know." she said. "He was worried that all this was for nothing."

Another person walked in from outside. By the curb was a tuner car that had obviously been outfitted with plenty of aftermarket performance parts. The person who had been behind the wheel wore baggy camo cargo pants with plenty of chains and accessories dangling all around him. He wore the traditional black and red assassin jacket with red bandanas tied and flapping around his upper arms. Instead of wearing the hood up, he had a large brown bandana wrapped around his head covering half of his face while still leaving his dyed blond hair spiked up in a mohawk down the middle.

"Wazup brothas?" he asked while walking up to them. "Word on the wire is we gotta boy in the back with a bounty on his head." He said, holding up his phone.

"Um, we're not sure what's going on." Niki said. "Tokyo guild?"

The man nodded. "You know it. The name's Shinji. It's a pretty sweet name, dudes, so don't wear it out too fast."

Toroto looked at him as if he was a couple of wires in his head were loose. "You sure got lotta energy." Toroto said. "Can you see out dat bandana?"

Shinji laughed and put an arm around his neck and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "I think we're going to get along just fine, bro." he turned to Kana and held out his hand. "You must be little Kana-chan. You're a bit famous around my area."

"Seriously?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"Hell yeuuhh!" he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "The assignment that you and Sato nailed couple months back with that dentist really put my team to work. Because of that hot shit, my guild in Tokyo got the drop on a warehouse full of kids in drug comas hooked up to these fuckin animus chairs." he said. "I've been looking for that place for years. You have no idea how many beers I want to buy for you guys. Feelin my love here?"

"Um…well, that's is definitely going to make Sam happy." she said. True, it would, but it also made her very happy to know that even her efforts had not gone in vain. Her and Sam's suffering had helped others who needed it. "I'm glad we helped…"

Shinji turned to the other two he hadn't addressed yet, and Niki introduced herself and her apprentice. Once everyone was acquainted, a couple more people came inside, and they introduced themselves, but more formally. These assassins were here by assignment and not by their own choice, but for Kana, it was more and more comforting to know that support had arrived. It was a really pain that she and Sam had suffered so bad that support had to be called in after, but support late was still much better than no support at all.

-o0o-

Here came another moment of definitive realization. Sam knew he had his moment of indulgence, and he needed to get his mind in gear despite the emotional happenings around him. There were way too many unanswered questions that nagged at him like bug bites that won't stop itching. Way too many holes and gaps in the passed few days.

He got back to his room and decided to get fully dressed again, but couldn't. The need to sleep overtook him, but his nap only lasted for ten minutes or so. After a vigorous shower, a meal, and some slow stretching, he dressed fully in his grey slim jeans with the cuffs tucked into his riding boots, assassin jacket, and his two hidden blades.

In front of the mirror, he could see that his color had returned to his face. His stance on the ground was firm thanks to the compression sleeve and brace he wore over his knee, and he could feel his body returning to its normal levels of strength and alertness. Waking up had been awful, but after spending some quality time physically and mentally recuperating, he felt almost back to normal.

The elevator took him down to the lobby level, now used as more of a lounge of sorts scattered full of assassins coming in to rest, regroup, debrief, or stock up on weapons and ammo. None of the faces he saw in the lobby he recognized. To him, it was all just a blur of black and red men and women fighting for a cause. In the back of his mind, he also knew that despite what that cause was, every person all had a different reasons for joining that cause.

The surprise suddenly hit him. Usually, anyone coming in went off somewhere to do what they needed to do. Everyone here seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Also, the number of people was much higher than usual. At least fifteen to twenty assassins stood or sat talking about recent exploits of their experiences. "Excuse me!" he called out to everyone. "Yo! Hey, people!"

All the heads in the lobby turned, and Sam took a second or two for everyone to quiet down while he scanned the crowd. In the back corner, standing next to Niki, Katsumi, and two other people he didn't recognize, Kana stood turning to face the speaker up front. When she recognized him, she made her way passed the rest of the people standing about and gave him a hug.

"You Sato Nakamora-san?" Someone in the back asked.

"Yeah." Sam said. "Have you been looking for me?"

"We all have." the person said. "We were all called here to guard your VIP."

"Well, he's around here somewhere." Sam said, waving back to Katsumi and Niki. "Listen, I'm not sure what's going on at all. All in know is I was asked to guard this man too, so I know as much as all of you. Did anyone get a message from a man named Kenji?"

Most everyone nodded and said yes.

"Good. He's the one leading this whole thing, so if he shows up sometime, you know who to go to."

A women emerged from the stairwell door leading down to the basement. The women who emerged was young, but tall and appeared strong. Her black hair was smooth and long down her back, but her menacing almond shaped eyes looked as if they had seen their fair share of death and pain. She was slim, but stood with confidence in her stance as if size and power was not a threat to her. On her shoulder was a Vector sub-machine gun and a sling with magazines. "They're starting the briefing." she said. "Looks like everyone is here. Come on down."

-o0o-

In the basement was a huge armory along the walls, with about twenty foldout chairs set up in the middle of the room with a projector screen covering some of the guns and weapons on one of the walls. Kenji and the VIP were down there talking while Kenji filled with something in his hands. The menacing women told everyone to take a seat.

Kenji looked around the room and nodded. "Good. I'm glad you all could make it." he said. "If it's all the same to you, including the people in here I know, I'd like to just skip the formalities and get right with this." He motioned for the white haired man to step forward.

"Hello, all of you." the man said. "I won't disclose my real name at this time, so please just call me Mr. White."

"Hang on a second here." one assassin said, crossing his arms. "Why should we be here if we don't even know your real name? You expect us to help you, but you don't even trust us."

"That's because you all probably don't trust me, and for obvious reasons. I'd like to remain at least partially anonymous incase something happens, so please bear with me on this."

The assassin nodded. "Ok then, Mr. White. We're all ears."

"I used to be an decoder for the Templars." he said. "I usually just spent my time working behind a computer putting together pieces of e-mails and messages, code segments, and data fragments for Templar communication. The messages were usually nominal things with little significance, but a few weeks ago, I put together a correspondence message about kidnapped children."

"How is this important?" another assassin asked. "We've all heard about that."

"It's not what the message was about that would interest you. That was only important to me." he said. "It's the decoding software and knowledge operate it that would be important to you."

"Assuming you're not full of it..." the assassin said, rubbing the back of his head, "…Are we to assume you can decode information we intercept for us?"

"Yes." he said. "That's correct."

"Why?" he asked. "Why are you even here?" Everyone else in the room, Including Sam and Kana, were lost by the question. "Not that I want you to be a Templar, but why would you commit treason like this? How can we trust a traitor with a weak backbone?"

"The message had a death toll and names of all the children taken. As I kept filling in the blanks, I kept thinking to myself, 'What if I've seen one of these kids before? What if one of them walks down the street on the way to school passed my apartment everyday?'"

That hit home with Sam, and he stood up from his chair to walk to the front. "If you don't want to help this man, then work with him for my sake, and the sake of each other. Yes…he is…a real spineless piece of work, but he can help us." he said.

Kenji put a hand up to say something, and said, "Some of you know me, and well. I wouldn't have asked you to help me on some bullshit assignment with no purpose. I need all your help to get him out of the country, and it's going to take a lot to do this."

Everyone in their seats murmured to each other, and some of them even sounded like they were going to walk right out of the room, but eventually they all calmed down.

"Good, I'm glad we can all see this from a rational position," Kenji said, "Because by now, the Templars probably know he is here, se we need to get a move on right now. Take your time grabbing anything in here that you might need. We leave at dawn at the police's shift change."

The woman with the Vector slung over her shoulder said, "Feel free to stock up on the guns as well. This might grow big fast, so prepare yourself."

Everyone got up from their chairs and started walking around the room eyeing all the guns, weapons, knives, and everything in-between. Kenji looked at Sam and said, "Thanks. Some of them might have left if you hadn't said something."

"I'm surprised you got this many assassins to show up. Are we really expecting something this big to go down?"

"We?" he asked. "No, not we. You are going home. I'm not taking you into this shit in the condition your in. Besides, I think with this many people we have it covered. Most of the people I asked to come here are experts in their field, so you don't need to worry. I've dragged you into enough of this already."

"Are you serious?" Sam asked. "You want me to go home?"

Kanji put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah. Go home. Rest up. Get your body fixed up. You may look fine now, but you really should get more treatment before considering field work again." His gaze drifted over to Kana, who was admiring a watch on a table. "She looks like hell too. I've never seen a girl with bags under her eyes like that."

Sam sighed. "Yeah….you're right. I'll go home."

"Good man." he said. "I'll keep you updated as we go, but don't feel obligated to do anything. You've done your part. Plus, if you did any more, you might snap in two or something."

Sam laughed. "Yeah….I felt like it was possible this morning."

Kenji smacked him on the shoulder and nodded his head towards the door. "Get outa here and sleep." he said, then walked away towards the back of the armory.

"Wait, just one thing." Sam said, putting a hand up.

Kenji walked back and asked, "Yeah?"

"I was attacked a couple nights ago before all this happened." he said. "The Templars knew who I was, which means someone had to tell them."

"Well, you are pretty famous around town." Kenji said. "Your raid on the dentist office had almost a chain reaction affect. The brotherhood higher-ups won't admit it, but they're actually grateful you pulled that stunt."

"Am I in danger then?" Sam asked. "I'd rather not be attacked wherever I go."

"After this," Kenji said, "The heat should be off. It's not you the Templars want, so don't flatter yourself."

Sam laughed and sighed. "Ok…well, I wish you and your team the best of luck."

"You too." Kenji walked off again. "Go home!"

Kana returned to Sam with a watch in her hands. "Hey Sam, I thought you might want this." she said. "I picked it up before all the fun toys were gone."

He laughed and tousled her hair. "You know, we're not going with them." he said. "We're going home."

She looked up and him, with earnest eyes. "Are you positive?" she asked. "Please tell me that wasn't a joke."

He shook his head and accepted the watch.

"Oh…that's such a relief." she said, hugging him and nuzzling her cheek into side. "I don't think I could keep this up any more…."

"I'm tired too." he said. "So...damn...tired."

* * *

This was more of a filler chapter ending yet another part of Sam and Kana's story, but I have a feeling this ordeal will not leave them alone just yet. Anyway, please look foward to the next update.


	19. Another Sam, Another City

Sam and Kana are very beloved characters to me, but for the passed couple of days, I've been feeling the need to come back to my roots. I started a second arc of the story which takes place in a city I know very well, but wouldn't call my home although I live there. Everything in I mention are entirely 100% accurate down to the last blade of grass and crack in the sidewalk. If you feel like googling anything you come across, I urge you to do so. I have spent so many years of my life here, and never realized until now the potential setup and great material possible to start an Assassin's Creed story here. Recently, a lot has happened that puts my home town in the same situation as Rome in the brotherhood and Istanbol in the revelations game. The struggle to establish a brotherhood here would make a great story. The start of Ezio's journey, I always imagined, might possiblly be a story many other assassins share.

I am not here to throw away my characters. They are just a part of this arc as everyone else, but for now, they will ahve to take a backseat.

The trademark labels I mention in this story do not belong to me (possibly too many to count).

* * *

Story Arc 2

Sam and Kana were on the train heading home in the middle of the night when he received a call. It was the first train of the day at almost five in the morning. Almost no one else was on board.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Sato Nakamora?" a voice asked in English with an American accent

"Yes, that's me." Sam answered in English. The change in language caught Kana's ear, and she looked up at him.

"You need to get out of Japan now." the voice said. "Go straight to the airport in Kansai. We have a plane waiting for you."

"Is this about the VIP?" he whispered into the phone. "What happened? Did something happen?"

"Don't worry." the male voice said. "As far as I know, the escort team hasn't encountered anything. We didn't anticipate any actual resistance, but the team was just a precaution."

"Then, what is this all about?" Sam asked, "Why do I need to leave?"

"Just get here as soon as possible. I'll explain when you get here. Call this number when you get out onto the runway. I'll be waiting for you in person."

-Chapter 1-

On the other side of the globe

Probably the most ugliest countryside in the world makes its home in the Mohave Deserts on the base of the Sierra Nevada Mts.

Rolling hills after rolling hills of complete waste and destitution are spotted with withered cheatgrass and sagebrush on the thick hard dirt sprinkled over the thick layers of rock now hollowed out from silver mining. Yes, Nevada does have its historical legends, but as a state, it probably would be the most inhospitable place to live if it weren't for the hundreds of fire and drinking festivals, off road racing, native beer, Indian reservations, prostitution, and gambling. Not exactly the kind of place people would want to make their home, but as time goes by, people have lived there, surviving on the work they can get and dreaming for that future when one day they will own a beach house in Washington or a brownstone in New York.

Nevada, the battle born state that only exists because an ancient president needed more electoral votes. Nevada, the home to so many prostitutes, it makes Taiwan look like a nice suburb. Nevada, home to Las Vegas: the city of so much decadence and depravity that both Templars and Assassins alike dare not call their home. Nevada, a cesspool of every kind of human being from intellectual philosopher to mindless serial killer. The culture is a diverse mixture of tourists from all over the globe, but mostly Asian families from California who have nothing better to do than spend their money on slots and pay the taxes of the actual residents. Nevada, the home to the Biggest Little City in the World. Reno, Nevada. A place for poor college students to go to a large University and feel important. Reno, the city of four star resorts and bad sports teams.

Reno, the home of one seventeen year old boy who became of the world's symbolic justice the peace. The home of a lonely high school student who has an anger management problem, and can't control himself when he sees the weak being taken advantage of.

In that city of lights and bad music, a young boy sat in the holding cell of the Reno Police Station next to the abandoned bus station now used as parking. That boy, still stirring in his juices, grew steadily agitated behind the cold metal bars.

The room was about the size of a large classroom. Desks scattered the place with papers, picture frames of people's families, and computers took up ever living inch. The floor was littered with coffee mugs, donut boxes, and spilled files. Men in police uniforms walked back and forth, talking, sometimes yelling, and occasionally dragging people of the night inside.

Behind all the commotion and bustling activity of the police station, a boy sat on a metal bench behind an overnight holding cell in the corner of the room. From his position, he could see the captain's office. The window was misty grey with his name engraved into the panels, but three figures were easily discernable. The two officers that had dragged the boy into the station were getting their asses screamed at by what appeared to be the silhouette of a bald man.

The drunk bum next to him fell asleep on his shoulder, and the boy shrugged him off, letting the dirty man fall face first onto the cold cement floor. The other two leather clad bikers in the cell with him saw this, and got up from their bench on the other side.

"What the fuck is your problem, kid?" The fat one with a scraggly beard and dark spectical glasses asked.

Annoyed, a little tired, but very much high strung and ready for a fight, the kid stood up and glared at the two men with an icy stare. One cop sipping coffee by his desk had saw this but decided to see where this would go. What amused him was the seventeen year old kid was at least a head shorter than two ugly bikers, but his stance and confidence suggested he could easily take these two.

The police officer leaned to one side of his desk and asked his partner, "I'll put twenty down on the kid."

The other officer rubbed his eyes to see the contenders of the fight, then said, "You are so on."

The two bikers shoved the boy down, but with lightning speed, the boy ducked under the left arm of the biker and sent his knee straight into the man's back. He reeled back in pain, momentarily paralyzed from the attack. The boy cupped his hands and slammed them over the man's ears. The two strikes had the same affect as a flash bang close range. The man went down arching his back while laying on his side as if having a seizure. The other biker screamed and threw a right hook, but the boy grabbed the arm and flung the man over his shoulder. That really surprised all the police officers in the room, and one officer open the cell door and pointed a taser at the kid.

"Step out of the cell!" the officer demanded.

The boy wiped his brow, brushing a falling lock of dark brown hair out of his eyes. His thick messy brown and black highlighted hair clung to his face in certain areas where sweat had lingered. His wide puppy eyes were angry and indignant, surrounded by black eyeliner. He wore a athletic fitting Affliction t-shirt that contoured against his lean and toned frame with bloodstains on the front. The faded blue boot cut jeans had splotches of red stain from either his blood or the blood of someone else. That wasn't entirely clear yet, but the police were intent on finding out. For now, they moved the kid to an interrogation room and locked him up in there to protect the prisoners.

Behind the one way glass, a petite but tall middle aged detective with curly blonde hair met with the bald captain.

"So, what's the deal with this kid?" the man asked.

She sipped a cup of coffee, then said, "Two uniforms picked him up in Lincoln alley about an hour ago."

"Did he mug someone?"

"That we're not quite sure of." she said. "He claims he was fighting back to save someone, but the only other people there were some low tier gang members with a couple of knives and a gun."

"This kid is lucky to be alive." he said. "How bad did they rough him up?"

"They didn't rough him up, cap." She pointed to the kid, now walking back and forth in the room. "He roughed them up…put those shitbug crewheads in the hospital."

"He did that?" he asked, pointing the seventeen year old boy now staring at them through the glass as if he could see them.

"Yeah, sure did. We also found about three thousand dollars on his person."

"Damn….this kid probably had this coming then. Was the gun discharged?" the captain asked.

"Two rounds from a stub nose Colt revolver." she said. "Both rounds were found in the side of a dumpster. There was gunpowder residue on the leader's right hand. I'm guessing he took a shot at our kid in there."

The captain looked at the boy now sitting on the table with his middle finger in the air. "He doesn't look too shaken up considering he'd been shot at. Is this kid a runaway part of a gang?"

"Um….no, actually, he lives with his father in a house near the university. His father teaches physics application math courses in the summer at UNR. Why he's downtown getting shot at is completely beyond me. I called the father, but had to leave a message."

"Why would the son of a professor be downtown in Lincoln alley at three in the morning?" he asked rhetorically, "Go in there and ask if he'll talk. I want to know why a kid like him took down three men with knives and a gun. None of it makes sense."

The woman opened the door to the room and slowly walked inside. "Hi, it's Sam, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I'm guessing you're a detective, since I don't see a uniform." he said. "Don't I have to have a parent present before questioning?"

"Sounds like you've been in a situation like this before." she said. "I was hoping that you and I could just talk, one on one."

"No thanks." he said. "I'm not into older women."

She chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"And you must think I'm really stupid." he said. "Everyone here knows my side of the story. There's nothing else to say."

"Yeah…let's talk about that." she said. "You feel like talking about what happened?"

.He sat down in a chair and sighed. "Yeah…why not, since that seems to be the only thing you people want to talk about."

She sat down across the table from him and folded her hands in front of him. "I know you already told the uniforms this, but why don't you start from the beginning for me."

"I could do that…" he said, "…If someone got me a big bottle of water and a sandwich. Think you can do that for me?"

She got up from the table. "Yeah, I think so. Hang on." She left the room and came back a minute later with a turkey wrap and some water. The boy dug in without holding back. "You must have been hungry." she said and he wiped his mouth and gulped down some water.

"You have no idea." he said. "You really don't."

"Are you getting enough to eat?" she asked. "You look a little thin."

He looked up at her from the table and laughed. "My god lady…..Let me guess. If I'm not fat like a stuck up white bitch carrying her phone all day, then I'm being abused."

"I'm not saying that." she said. "I'd believe you if you said you were doing fine."

He put his food down and pointed at himself. "I need that money really bad." he said.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" she feigned, "What money?"

"You want me to trust you, then don't fuck with me." he said.

"I'm only trying to help you." she said. "Give me a chance to do that."

"If I start from the beginning," he asked, "Then will you really help me?

She looked him over. "Yes, I will. Help me, and I'll help you."

He cleared his throat and took another sip. "What I'm about to tell you, you didn't hear from me." he said. "If you try to use this information against me, I'll pull the minor card and you'll probably lose your job."

She nodded in understanding. "Just tell me. Tell me and let me help you."

He sighed and rubbed his head. "Ok….it started a couple of weeks ago….."

-o0o-

In the old district of Reno's west side resides a high school unlike any other. There have been a few occasions where old high schools were renovated into minimum security prisons, but never the other way around. The Calvary had built a brick and mortar prison that was later reinforced with rebar and cement. As the years progressed, the sheriff and highway patrol constructed a more modern prison north of town out of sight of the residence. During that time, the old prison was completely gutted inside, the concrete walls torn down, and the grounds landscaped. The high school built with the same brick and mortar design next to the old prison now had a separate gymnasium and outdoor sports fields recycled by the county. Legends float around the school about the old prison's inmates that used to live in the gymnasium. The marks and holes in the wall indicate the existence of catwalks and cells that once filled the room. Now, as an empty shell used for indoor sports, the building held lots of character and history.

A few things were built in the much later years around the school which gave off the prison look again like the days of old. Heavy padlocked metal fences surrounded the school with barbed wire suspended over the top, and during school hours, the gates swung open all day. The fence and barbed wire were not meant to keep people in, but to keep those who shouldn't be there out. School police roamed the halls and the grounds of the school like correctional officers, and those trying to ditch class were hauled to the school own police station: a mobile home that had been moved to the school grounds fro just that purpose. There was even some riot control equipment in there, or so the rumor goes.

Reno High School was never an overcrowded school, but the populace was a never ending source of concern for the county and the city. Many of the students were violent and headed for gang lives, while others spent their days studying their lives in an attempt to leave the city they hated.

Other students, much like Sam Clifford, was on neither extreme of the spectrum. They passed their classes enough to graduate as soon as possible to get back to their lives. They had hobbies like everyone else, and kept their noses relatively clean. For some people, they were content to live life like this. The one thing that stood out for Sam was, he didn't want this life at all.

Most seniors drove to school, but only a few of them, and even a couple of teachers, rode motorcycles to school. Every morning, Sam parked his bike along side the others and dismounted around the same time as the algebra teacher Mr. Halls. He had never actually taken a class with the man, but they knew each other well enough from seeing each other in the parking lot every morning say hello.

Sam pulled the helmet off his head and slung it over the middle of his handlebars as the winter cold nipped at the tip of his nose and turned his cheeks a little pink. The tattered brown leather bomber jacket he wore kept the warmth in almost as well as a heater, but his face always felt frozen in the morning. His ten year old Triumph tiger 955i had been left to him by his Uncle, who ironically died in a motorcycle crash. The omen at first, upset him, but then again, his uncle was a complete drunken slob who thought he was Kenevil.

"Morning." Sam said, dismounting and arching his back into a stretch.

"Morning, kid." Mr. Hall never really bothered to learn anyone's name. No one seemed to care, and he didn't either. He did know Sam's name, but chose not to use it in order to preserve the distance between them.

They never exchanged any other words in the morning in an attempt to find common ground. Neither of them really cared. They were polite enough to each other to interact civilly and tactfully.

Sam did have one friend in school, which was ironically his complete opposite. Darek Vance was the star football player and wrestler for the school. At each assembly, Darek would get up and start the crowd in a cheer. For every click in the school, good and bad, he was a public favorite. For some reason, Sam found himself a part of this guy's life.

There he was, saying hi to everyone who walked inside, waiting for Sam to show up. "Hey buddy." Darek said, slinging an arm around Sam's shoulder. "You look like you put on too much blush this morning…haha."

"I still don't think that's really that funny. Yeah, I get it, but still, you say that every morning." Sam said, Shoving his hands into his pockets and walking inside.

"And every morning you look funny…well, at least to me." he said. "You going to your locker?"

"Yep." Sam said, taking off his jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. "Don't you have something to do, like student officer meeting or something?"

"I can take the hint." he said. "You had a rough morning and don't feel like you got your hair right…ahaha…it's okay, I'm sure a guy with love you one day."

Sam stopped and turned to him while other students walked around them like they were obstacles. "Why the gay jokes, man? You like me or something?"

"Dude…I'm just trying to lighten you up." he said. "Why the cold shoulder all the time?"

Sam sighed. "Dude, I don't even know you. Why are you always trying to hang out with me?" he asked. "Come on, you have got to be gay for me or something."

Darek led Sam to the doorway of a classroom, which gave Sam the impression he actually was going t confess his feelings. "Look man, I hear a lot of things." he said. "That fight you got into a couple of days ago…"

"You and the rest of the world on Youtube knows about that." he said. "What about it?"

"My coach watched the video." he said. "He thinks you'd be a good addition to the team."

Sam shook his head and started to walk away. "So you're only doing this to recruit me. I think I'd feel better if you really were gay."

"Come on, man!" he pleaded. "Give it a chance! If nothing else, then it'll be something to do! Hey, stop walking away man!" Darek ran up to catch up with him, and Sam groaned in annoyance while turning a corner. "You don't have to take this too seriously. I just want to keep you out of trouble. You can let off some steam and as a bonus, you and I get to hang out all day! How bout that, bro?"

Sam reached his locker and punched the bottom half. The door swung open with force as the lock popped out of place. He place the jacket inside and closed the door. "You have got to be gay. Like….super fucking gay. I'm sorry dude, I know how this crush thing feels, but I'm not like that."

"My god! I'm telling you I'm not gay!" Darek yelled, which turned a few heads around them. "I'm just trying to be a friend here."

"What if I don't want a friend?" Sam asked, "What if I just want to be left alone?"

"You don't mean that." he said, then started singing the song Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. The crowd around them started to laugh and clapped their hands. Darek took a bow, and Sam couldn't help himself but laugh. "So, how bout it man? Just tryin to pay it forward here."

"Nah…." he sighed. "Sorry dude, but I'm ok. Really."

"Damn…." Darek rubbed the back of his head while heading down the hall. "Well, try and stay out of trouble, ok man? No more million hits on Youtube."

Sam threw up his hand in a pitiful wave as the bell rang. The crowds in the hallway started moving like a sea of ants around him while he stood still. After waiting a few minutes, the bell rang again and most of the people in the hallways except for himself and maybe two others hand reached their classrooms for class.

He leaned against his locker and sighed. "Sorry man…." he said out loud while walking towards the back of the building, "…I still got one lined up."

In his last year of school, he had requested no course schedule for the first couple classes to sleep in. The library was his favorite place in the morning. It was quiet, but not empty. It'd be perfect if it was empty, but at least it was more than quiet enough to sleep soundly behind the monitor of one of the computers in the back. Sam laid his head down and let out a much louder yawn then he needed to before beginning his slight drooling on the desk. Someone from behind one of the book shelves was the only person in the room making any noise. The sound of books being stacked methodically almost had a soothing effect. Sleep did not come easily to Sam, and during the first class of the day was his usual moment of rest. He could sleep somewhere else besides school, like at home, but home was never a place he wanted to spend too much time.

The noise stopped, as it always did, when the person stacking the books slowly inched her head out from behind the bookcase. He was there again, napping like worn out animal from a hunt, less than gracefully flopped over the desk. His soft breathing was the only noise he made. No one else in the library even noticed him coming inside everyday, but she did. She saw him everyday for an hour and a half, motionless and still. She knew his name and the rumors about him, but her mind just couldn't wrap around all the things said about him.

He was supposed to be a violent guy, with a shorter fuse than a grenade, but his sleeping form and gentle, peaceful face said otherwise. Perhaps the paradox and contradiction behind his entire existence was what intrigued, and also scared her. More than anything, she wanted to approach him, and ask everything about him. She had so many questions she wanted answered. It was hard trying to convince herself that his tall slender frame, long thick brown hair, and firm but gentle features had nothing to do with anything. She knew it wasn't true, and in a way, she hated him. Everyday she saw him she compared herself to him physically. He was no doubt good looking, and even had the admiration of girls (plus a few guys) to prove it. She was just a short, quite girl with glasses who kept to herself. Her plain brown hair, little button nose, small face, and big eyes were probably not his type anyway. She was small, slender, and if anything, weak. Books were the heaviest things she could pick up without hurting herself. That was another polar opposite that intrigued her. There was, however, one commonality. He was the mysterious delinquent, who, like she, kept very much to himself. That common ground actually furthered her from him even more. If she kept to herself and he kept to himself, there was no chance of either of them talking. Her curiosity, admiration, and intrigue would never be satisfied because of this. Ironic how, despite it all, he was so very close to her everyday every morning, but the distance felt like miles.

For Sam, all of this went unnoticed like the billboards by the freeway off ramps. When the bell signally class had ended, Sam yawned again, checked his watch, and got up. This class period he used to eat something in the cafeteria, then take the food put to the football field to lay out on the grass no matter what the weather was like. This morning he got the same thing, a couple pieces of what fruit they served and a rewrapped sandwich. School made food could be the death of someone. With some pocket change, he bought a water from the vending machine.

After retrieving his jacket from his locker, he exited out of the back entrance to the school, and felt the bitter cold bite his face again. It wasn't too bad. _"Very least it'll keep the water cold."_ he thought.

Unfortunately, two police officers walked around back the same time he did, and just before their lines of sight reach him, he duck back inside and pulled the door closed quietly. _"Damn-it…."_ he sighed. _"Fine, I'll eat in the library today." _Sometimes, that was his fate. He knew he shouldn't complain. Some people have it really tough. Yeah, his life wasn't great, but at least he was living, in his own way.

So…back to the library he went. Back to his favorite desk he went. As he started to eat, something occurred to him. He was in a library, filled with books. There had to be something worth reading while he had breakfast. While getting up out of his chair, he thought,_ "Might as well look, right? Not like I have to be somewhere….well at least not for a while."_

The girl who had stared at him earlier realized she had wasted much of her time last class period doing nothing but looking at someone, and had neglected to finish stacking books. Her eyes were downcast after being scolded for being slow, and had to stay after class to finish. Her next period was an optional homeroom class, but she liked to spend that time brushing up on last nights assignment.

Sam walked around his half of his sandwich in his hand, running his other hand over books that caught his eye. Something caught not only his eye but his interest, and he picked it up.

"_The Prince…" _he read to himself while admiring the old binding. He opened up the book to a random page and read, "He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin that his preservation." He closed the book and stared at it on the shelf. _"Man…that book really has a lot to say, doesn't it….man I must be really god damn bored if I'm spending my time looking at old books."_

He walked across the room passed some people studying towards the fiction section. The movement caught the small girl's eye, and she turned to see him walking to the aisle beside her. She made a hiccup noise while covering her mouth in surprise.

"_Hm…"_ he looked around and picked up a magazine on Italian cars. _"This'll work for now." _he thought while turning a corning down another aisle back to his desk while reading the magazine.

The girl grabbed the cart with the book on it she had been pushing around and started to quietly hyperventilate. It surprised he to see him again the same day, and moving around. He was even more impressive looking standing tall. The confidence in his stance as he walked by the people studying was almost choking her.

Sam felt himself bump into something by his waist, and accidentally dropped his magazine. Whatever he bumped into had cushioning give to it, and when he looked up, he could see a small girl fall back on herself on the ground. Her glasses fell off her face and onto the ground.

"Oh, crap." he said, completely forgetting about the magazine he dropped and bent down with his hand out stretched. "That was completely my bad. You alright?"

She landed on her butt and elbows. The pain set in, and a few tears started coming to her eyes. She looked up at him, and her eyes went wide. It was a shock to fall, but an even bigger shock to be knocked down by him.

"You ok?"

His face was sincere and kind. There was a worried expression on his face, as his outstretched arm reached for her hand, despite the thick, uneven, and messy bangs covering part of his face.

"Hello?"

Now, a feeling of embarrassment set in. For one, she was crying. Second, she was at such a loss for words that she hadn't said anything. She brought a hand up, but instead of grabbing his, she started to wipe her eyes while squinting hard. A light sobbing started.

"Oh…god, wait wait wait, no it's okayyy." he grabbed her hand and put an around by her lower back to help her up. The embarrassment got worse, and she started to cry even more. One or two heads in the room noticed, and turned to see what the commotion was about. He pulled her up very gently to her feet and started rubbing her back. "Please don't cry….really…someone's going to think I was picking on you." The back rubbing seemed to calm he down, and she opened her eyes but didn't dare look up at him. "You ok?" he asked again, sounded very concerned. "I really should have paid attention. I guess that's why they say people shouldn't text and drive, huh…hahaha." he laughed to eased to mood.

She looked up at him and marveled at how he could easily he could remain so collected in a social situation. "I uh…umm…I'm ok." she said in a very quite voice barely audible even in the library. "…thanks…"

He shook his head and looked at her like she said the wrong answer to an important question. "No don't thank me. I should be thanking you for not ripping into me." he said, then brought his hands up and pointed to himself. "Go ahead." he chuckled. "Go ahead at lay into me. I deserve it."

It was, at least to Sam, a joke, but she didn't understand that. _"He thinks I should be mad?"_ she asked herself. _"…What do I do?"_ She made a tiny little fist and bumped him in the stomach with it, marveling at how taunt and firm his abdomen was. He looked down, surprised. The girl had made an attempt to punch him in the stomach, but she just looked up at him, still holding her fist up, appearing to be looking for approval of all things. "Did I….did I do it right?"

"Mmmphggg…." he covered his mouth, trying to cover his laugh, but more random and weird spitting noises escaped his mouth which turned into laughter. "mphhhhhthththhh..Ahhhahahahahahahahaha!" The old librarian lady behind the counter stood up and shooshed whoever what making that noise. Sam immediately quieted down, but couldn't stop laughing. He had to resort going back to making those weird noises again. "I'm sorry…" he wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled. He put a hand on her head and calmed down by blowing out one long breath. "…sorry, that was just too funny." He looked down. "You can put your hand down now."

"Oh…" she cupped her hands together and turned away, even more embarrassed then before. "…I did something weird again…" she sighed.

"Aw..come on now…" he smiled at her when she turned to face him. "It was pretty funny."

She turned away again. _"He's laughing at me…"_ she thought to herself while bringing her hand up to her face again. A tear fell onto the ground. _"…he's laughing at me."_

Sam immediately thought the worst and assumed she was feeling bad. "Oh…hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know it hurt that much. If you said something…." he started to feel really really bad and panicked. She could feel him grab her hand and felt a pull. "Come with me." he said. "I'll take you to the nurse's."

She was too much in shock and confusion of the moment to say anything, and felt herself effortlessly being dragged away out the library and down the hall. A police officer in the hall put up his hand, but Sam said, "She fell down. I'm, taking her to the nurse." The officer could see the tears in her eyes and let them pass.

Sam opened the door and pulled her gently inside. A middle aged woman still trying to look thirty behind a desk wearing scrubs almost jumped up. "My god! You scared me!" she said.

Sam held up the girl's hand in her own, and said, "She fell down."

"Oh." She looked at the teary eye girl and asked, "Did you fall back on a finger or something?" The girl shook her head. "Well, where does it hurt?"

"I'm…" both the nurse and Sam looked at her with worried looks in anticipation of her words. This put her on the spot just like before, and she felt like she had to say something hurt. It would be embarrassing to tell them the real reason why she had been crying. "…my uh…ankle…" she mumbled, pointing down to her right foot.

The nurse stepped away towards the bathroom to get some ice. "Help her up on the table, would you kid?"

"Sure thing." Sam said, then motioned towards the table. He put a hand behind her knees and a hand around her shoulders. "On three, ready?" She looked at him, confused and oblivious as to what he was about to do. "One, two, three!"

She felt herself being lifted off the ground into a very reclining position in his arms. Her eyes widened in surprise and she felt herself freeze up. Sam set her down very gently on the table, and when she came to her senses, she felt sorry to have to leave those arms.

The nurse came back with a small flexible ice pack and placed it against her right ankle. The cold sensation was painful, and she unintentionally reached out and squeezed for Sam's hand.

This gave Sam the impression he really hurt her, and he squeezed back. "Man…..I'm really sorry about this." he said, looking sad. "I'm such a jerk…"

Without even trying, she had caused such a commotion and made him sad all in the first ten minutes of meeting the guy she had always admired. As first impressions went, this had to have been the worst.

The tears started to flow again, and she couldn't help herself. The ruckus she caused was all her fault for not being able to speak up.

"Maybe you should go…" the nurse said. "I know it was an accident, but it looks like she doesn't want you around."

Sam let go of her hand and sighed. "Yeah…you're probably right." he said, starting to walk away towards the door.

As he back away looking downtrodden and sad, the crying girl felt like spilling everything out into the open and say that she was sorry for causing everyone to worry, but she couldn't feel the courage necessary to do that. She looked away from him and covered her eyes, making Sam feel even more like a complete asshole.

Sam sighed and walked out.

"_Fuckin shit….."_ he inwardly cursed. _"Sam…you're such an ass…"_

The bell rang again, signaling the start of lunch. Impulsively, Sam checked his watch. It was lunch, which meant that pressing engagement he had scheduled earlier was near.

The halls started to flood with people, pushing Sam around back and forth as he pushed against opposite traffic to reach the font of the school. The back end of the parking lot was the partially empty, and he kicked the fence by the curb. "Damn-it!" he cursed. "Why did she have to start crying?"

"Who started crying?" a snickering voice asked.

Sam turned around and saw the body of a chubby boy his height in baggy pants, long t-shirt that came down to his knees, wearing a hat sideways on his head. Behind him were seven other kids in various styles of clothing. One of the kids had a large stack of money in his hand. Sam wiped his eyes and sucked down slow, deep breaths to prepare himself. "You really want to do this?" Sam asked. "There is no consolation prize, you know."

"Fuckin shut up." the chubby kid said, putting his hands up. "Lets see if you're as good as they say."

"I'm really not in the mood, kid." Sam said. "You should really leave."

The chubby asshole grabbed him by the collar of his black v-neck shirt. He tried to throw his weight around on Sam, but there was no strength behind his arms. Sam knew he could easily take this kid, but didn't feel like a fight at the moment. "You too chicken shit?!"

Sam snapped. He had a bad last half hour, and instinctively started taking out his anger.

Sam threw his head forward as hard as he could, and their skulls connected hard. Sam looked unaffected as his feet spread out into a fighting stance. He let the chubby kid recover, and he waddled forward, throwing a punch at Sam.

Sam ducked under the punch, and as the chubby kid kept moving forward, Sam turned around and grabbed his arm. His knee went straight into the kid's elbow, and the crowd yelped as the sound of the joint breaking could be heard. Sam then kicked the kid hard in the back, sending him tumbling forward towards the ground.

Two of the bystanders looked at each other, then rushed Sam the side. Sam stopped the first one with a sidekick to the gut, then blitzed the second attacker. He threw a low hook to the gut, then grabbed both of his ears and kneed his face. The attacker's body flew backwards as blood flung out of his nose in an arching pattern. The first attacker got back up off the ground and tried to bear hug Sam, but ended up getting slammed into the fence and thrown over Sam's back. He landed with a dead thud on the concrete, and all three guys writhed and moaned in pain while holding their injuries.

"Shit!"

The rest of the crowd started running, and the guy holding the cash had dropped the wad. Sam picked it up flipped through the bills. _"Fuck…I'm not going to make this week's rent."_

-o0o-

The detective pulled out her phone, and slid the device across the table. It was the You tube video of what he had just described. "This the fight?" Sam looked at the short but intense video, then nodded. "Is this the first time you interacted with an Original Surenos member?"

Sam shook his head. "There are a lot of OSG members at Reno High." he said. "Most of them only go after the Aryan skinheads. This guy was just looking to bring in some money. I didn't know he was OSG at the time."

"Did the clothes give away some red flag?" she asked.

Sam shook his head. "Look lady, I don't pay that close attention to all this shitty gang crap. Last time I checked, that was your job."

"Is this the girl you're talking about?" she asked, sliding a picture over to him.

Sam looked it over. It was the face of the girl he had tried to help take to the nurse. "I didn't know her name at the time either." he said.

"Did you know anything at the time?" she asked.

"No!" he shouted, slamming his handcuffed fists onto the metal table. "I didn't! I was just minding my own fucking business until this shit rained on me like a fucking hail storm!"

* * *

Please rate and review when finished reading. I would esspecially like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this new direction this story has taken. I always wanted to start an assassin story with a young, fresh, and ignorant person who learns over time how the world really works.


	20. Making a Living

I'll leave an author's notes at the bottom.

Assassin's Creed and all the tens of trademark things and places I mention belong solely to their owners.

* * *

The drop off platform of the airport was completely packet with people. It took three transfers and two hours to get here, but now Sam realized the real wait would be inside. "Oh…hell….I just want to sleep." Sam sighed.

Kana put an hand on his shoulder. "Did we call them back?"

"Oh. Good thinking." he pulled the phone out of his pocket and started walking towards the doors of the airport. Over the crowd inside, it was hard to hear what was being said, but Sam managed to get through. "Hello?"

"Make your way to the upstairs security checkpoint and duck into the employees only door. Someone will be waiting for you."

The line went dead, and Sam started at the end call screen for a second. Kana looked at the phone, then his face. "What did they say?"

"Um…" he rubbed his head with his thumbs. The fatigue and strange situation was starting to take a toll on the speed his brain was running on. "Just…follow me."

The walking to get to the security checkpoint took almost twenty minutes up escalators and restaurant areas. Finally, Sam and Kana came saw who was waiting for them. Just like the first time they met, Vorkof stood leaning against the door, waiting and looking very out of place.

"What the…." Sam muttered. "Oh…you got to be kidding me."

"Nice to see you too, old friend." Vorkof smiled. "We have so much catching up to do." He directed his gaze at Kana. "You've been taking care of this idiot?"

"Trying…." she sighed. "…but he won't take care of himself."

Vorkof shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk…." He looked up and opened the door behind him. "Well, let's get going. We don't have much time to finish flight."

"I'd really…..really…..REALLY like to know what the hell is going on." Sam said. "No one had said a thing. I was expecting an update from an escort team until you people called me up."

"I heard about all that." Vorkof said. "I told that team to send you two home."

"Why?" Sam asked. "Why am I here then?"

Vorkof stopped after passing the same lockers and showers they did before time ago when they first met at this very airport, and said, "There's a little thing in the states that Mr. White wants your help with."

Arc 2 Chapter 2

A knock sounded from the door, and a well built man with dark short hair in a blue shirt and black tie popped in head in. He motioned for the detective to leave the room.

"I'll be right back." she said as Sam steamed in his juices from his outburst of anger. "Take a minute to relax." She walked out and the door closed behind her, leaving Sam alone in the interrogation room. The only sounds he could hear were his own slow and quiet breathing chiming with the ticking of the cheap analog clock on the wall.

Behind the one way glass, the blonde detective asked, "Whaddya got for me?"

"Here." he handed her a manila folder with the name 'Samuel W. Clifford' printed on the side. "He doesn't have an official record, but he is popular on the web."

She opened the folder and scanned her eyes over the couple of pages it contained. Every so often, she nodded her head while reading over a line that caught her eye. After a minute, she closed the folder and turned towards the door.

"Hold on." he said. "You want any help with this kid?"

She shook her head. "I think I'm good." she said. "If something goes south, feel free to rush in."

He crossed his arms nodded. "You got it. Just, be careful. He's a lot tougher than he look, and he might try something."

Sam sighed obnoxiously as she walked in. "Have a nice chat with the wife?" he asked. She sat down and laid the folder down next to the pictures and papers she already had. He looked at the folder and saw his name. "So, you must know everything about me now…"

"I wouldn't say that." she said, opening the folder and spinning it towards him. "I looks you've been hard at work."

He flipped a page and noticed there was a picture clipped to the side. The picture was a poor resolution shot, but it clearly showed his body half naked, sweating, muscles exemplified, standing over another half naked man. His arms were raised in a victory scream with a grey bandana wrapped around his right bicep. People around him were shouting with hands in the air.

He sighed and closed the folder. "You could call it a part time job."

She shook her head. "No…see a part time job involves income tax and W-2s. This…this is just barbaric."

"I don't think so." he said. "To me, it's just another way to eat."

She yanked the folder back from him and folder her hands in front of her. "Why don't you tell me what happened next."

-o0o-

The rest of the school day had gone by without any interruption, from thugs or police. Because of this, Sam thought he was in the clear. If no one bothered him about the fight, then no one would say anything, which was a good thing because he already had a history. Getting his license was hard enough. Unfortunately, the last person Sam wanted to confront about anything came up to him after school in the parking lot right before he was about to put his helmet on.

"Sam! Hey, Sam!"

"Damn-it…" Sam muttered while pushing the visor up. Darek ran up to him and stopped. "What do you want, man?"

In a hushed voice, Darek asked, "Did you get into another fight again?"

"Why does it matter?" Sam asked, pulling the visor down and pressing the started button. "I'm going home." Darek knelt down and flipped the fuel valve switch to the 'cut off' setting. The engine sputtered and died. "Fuckin-A, man!" Sam said, "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Dude…" Darek put his hands on the handle bars on top of Sam's, and looked him in the eyes. "…I'm just trying to look out for you."

Sam flipped the switch back with his left hand, then started engine. He reved the engine a couple of times while saying, "I don't need your help." then popped the clutch. After cutting off a few people in the parking lot and receiving a few middle fingers, he sped down the street.

Darek stood there, hands on his hips, looking angry. A girl walked up to him and asked, "You alright? Did something happen just now?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, I just forgot where I parked, that's all."

-o0o-

"Hang on." the detective put up a hand. "I don't need your life story here. Just tell me what I want to know."

"I am." Sam said. "I'm getting there."

She shook her head and sighed while crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "Fine…fine."

-o0o-

Sam took the old highway running east downtown, and stopped in an ancient shopping square full of copy centers, record stores, smoke shops, and Laundromats. There was one small gas station in the center where he filled his bike up. While holding the nozzle over the tank, he could see obvious young minors going in and out of the smoke shops with cigarettes in their mouths. Many of them had snuff in their mouths, and disgustingly spat on the sidewalk. Sam shook his head and threaded the cap back on before riding back onto the road.

The traffic back home was a pain, but the side alleys downtown were helpful. He crossed under the Reno arches before reaching Truckee River, which runs directly through the middle of the city. Next to the road running by the river, an old Manson. called Ross Manor, left over from a rich family built in dark gothic theme had been turned into an apartment building. Sam always parked his bike behind the dumpsters in between the apartment building and a catholic church built around the same time in the same design.

To Sam, that old, poor area of downtown felt like home. It was quiet, but the noise of the city could be heard with the sounds of the running river below in a surreal way. The tenants were European illegal immigrant, there was no trash pick up, the accommodations were bad, and hot water was a gamble, but at least everyone left each other alone. That's what Sam was looking for when he picked the place, despite the fact that it was the only place he could find that would harbor a minor.

Sam walked inside and headed down the basement stairs. His apartment wasn't the best in the building. The streets were eye level with the barred window in his apartment, but it home. Before he made it all the way down the stairs, A fat and corpulent old man with thinning hair wearing a dirty shirt with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth yelled in a hoarse and husky voice, "Stop right there, kid."

Sam gripped his helmet hard, and turned around. "What?"

The man stuck out his hand. "You owe me this months rent."

Sam fished the wad of cash out of his pocket and said, "This is all I got."

Normally, in a place like this, the rent would be cheap, but because Sam was staying there illegally and off the books, his rent was much higher than the older tenants.

The disgusting man grabbed the wad and spat his cigarette at Sam's face. It took more than a world's worth of self control not to kill him on Sam's part. "You owe me the rest by the end of the week." he said, waddling away slowly.

Sam finished walking down the stairs and turned his key. The door opened, reveling a room that looked almost like a hotel room. It only had one room with one bed, a small TV, a sink with an oven/stove next to it, and a door for the bathroom. The shower was just a nozzle on the wall by the toilet with no curtain and a drain on the floor.

It may have not been the best place in town, but Sam loved it all the same. He kicked his shoes off and threw himself on the bed to take a nap for a few hours.

-o0o-

Darek went to the school office with the intent of asking a question he knew he most likely wouldn't get an answer for. All the administration knew him and loved him. He had featured the school in the city paper for his athletic achievements, volunteer work, and even for fundraising. Not only was he a favorite among the students, but he was a favorite among the faculty.

"Hey there, Mrs. Eckheart." he said.

A middle aged women with glasses dressed in clothes from what looked like the set from Little House on the Prairie looked up from her desk and smiled. "Oh, hello there Mr. Vance." she said. "You excited for our game this weekend?"

He nodded. "Yep. I can't wait. I got a really good feeling about beating North Valleys this year."

"I'm glad to hear it." she said. "So, what can I do for you?"

He sighed and dug his hands into his pockets. "Well…I was wondering if I could look something up."

"Isn't that what the library is for?"

"No…I mean….I want to know where, uh…someone lives."

"Mr. Vance, you do know we don't give out student information, right?" she asked. "This is pretty common knowledge."

"I know I know." he sighed. "….I guess that was a pretty stupid question, huh. It's just…I kind of need to know where this guy lives."

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He put on a fake smile and shook his head. "No, I just have my friends keys, but he went home already." he lied. "Nothing's really wrong."

"We trust you here, but we can't give out information to anyone, even if it's a good kid like you. Sorry."

He shook head. "Forget about it. It's cool."

"Did you need anything else?" she asked as he started towards the door back to the hallways. "I could mail them to him, if you'd like, or you can give it to him when he see him tomorrow."

"No, but thanks anyway." he said before stepping out.

As he walked down the hall, he rubbed his head and made his way towards the locker room in the south wing. Practice was about to start, and he needed to hurry.

He passed the nurses office just as a short girl walked out with a man with the same shade of brown hair as her and same lens thickness in his glasses as her. He thanked the nurse for her help while walking out into the hallways. He was about six feet one, slim, and very intellectual looking.

"Are you sure you're ok, Henrietta?" he asked her, "If it hurts still, I don't mind taking you to the doctor."

She shook her head slowly, handles nervously folded in front of her. "I'm….I'm ok." she said, voice as soft as silk yet as quiet as church mouse.

Her father sighed. "Ok, but if it starts to hurt again, let me know, ok?"

She nodded silently, and felt even worse for bring her dad into this. None of this fuss was anyone else's fault but hers. She just didn't have the courage to say anything.

-o0o-

Today, was what he called a work day. After stripping down to his underwear, he took a deep breath. In a cheap standup mirror he had bought, he could see his chest and back had plenty of cut scars, both old and some red from recent encounters. His body was lanky, but muscular and toned. His shoulders sat square on his torso and his skin stretched over his body tight, like a dancer's. It was a miracle that his face was still intact, but he had purposefully grown out his bangs in a layered style to cover his right eye. A scar ran down it through his eyebrow down to his cheek. He checked himself over to make sure nothing was red or bruised anymore. He rotated his arms and arched his back a few times to test his flexibility to make sure he was in good condition, then sat down on his bed.

Like all other work days, he pulled a glass jar out from under his bed full of a white powder. Using a spoon, he scooped out half a glass, poured in some water, stirred, and gulped down the awful tasting liquid as fast as he could.

He coughed and hacked as he slammed the glass down on the stovetop he only used to brace himself against something ever time he did this. His body felt hot, and his legs shook out from under him. After shaking off the lightheaded feeling and regaining his breath, he stood up again and went to the bathroom to wipe his body off with a towel.

"_God I hate that shit…"_ he groaned. _"I hope I don't throw this shit up tonight."_

He opened a suitcase from under his bed and pulled out what he called his work uniform. Inside were faded black skinny with a bunch of zippers and metal objects around the legs. A faded black jean jacket with chain spikes on the shoulders and a giant skull patch stitched on the back. In bold white letters, it said below the skull, "The Last Thing You See".

Sam got dressed in his "uniform" and slipped a pair of black combat boots on over the cuffs of the pants. He tied a black bandana around his head while checking the clock, then left his apartment and locked the door.

On his way out, the old geezer tried to stop him again, but decided not to when he saw Sam's intimidating outfit.

Now, without the helmet, Sam mounted his bike and started it up, startling a sleeping cat. The inner city streets beckoned to him to come, and he accepted the invitation. The invitation from the roads, however, wasn't the only thing calling his name.

The old casinos on Virginia Street were mesmerizing in their own way. The streets smelled like stale cigarettes and the sidewalks smelled like bad beer, but all the second rate Vegas lights surrounded by the resorts grew brighter and brighter as the sun started to set. More people started to flood the sidewalks carrying strange and colorful glasses and smoking to their heart's content.

In the old Circus Circus parking garage on the north side, Sam rode to the top floor and parked his bike by the stairs. As he walked down the five levels of stairs, he passed tourists, who, when they saw him, took a step back and muttered to themselves.

On the ground level next to elaborate advertisements on large TV billboards in the walls of the casinos, police on bicycles chatted with each other on the corner of a major intersection. Sam noticed, and decided to duck into the old Nugget casino.

He passed old slot machines, an open bar, some drunk hells angels, and even a cigarette machine before he reached the back entrance which opened up into Lincoln alley. An alley so widely used it had an official name with blinking lights at both service entrances for trash trucks. The walls of the alley were all red brick, and the paved ground had a ridge running down the middle to drain rain water. Since rain didn't come often in Reno, most of the liquid running down the middle was mainly urination and beer. Sam was careful not to step in the creek of infested human and brewery waste.

The entrance to the underground Knitting Factory concert house in the back alley had over fifty people crammed packed waiting to get in, but a heavy set bouncer kept any people in. The crowd of half drunk idiots smoking by the entrance always made Sam laugh. Loyal football fans have their tailgate parties. Unlike football, this wasn't a sanctioned sport, but the fans still had their own version of a tailgate party filled with bad whiskey, harsh cheap cigarettes, and energy drinks.

Sam walked up to the bouncer and nodded. The large black man gave him a fist bump and stood aside to let him pass. The crowd outside got a little riled up by this, but Sam was too busy to notice.

Inside, there was a large floor with a stage originally meant for dancing and live music. Yes, the concert house still did that, but business in the entertainment industry had died out some since the crash. Now, the concert house would occasionally be used for a much more illegal purpose.

What looked like a booth opened up into a staircase into the basement behind the bar counter by the entrance. Sam walked down and admired the murals of a city on fire all around him. The stairs led to some bathrooms, a janitor closet, and another door unmarked.

He knocked twice, then three times, then once.

The door opened, and a tall girl about a couple inches shorter than him opened the door. Her hair was dyed jet black and spiked in a mohawk. She wore the same outfit as Sam, including the chain up jeans with multiple zippers, jean jacket with the same skull logo.

"What up, Trin?"

Normally, they'd do their handshake and she'd let him in, but this time, she threw her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could. The squeeze really hurt. She wasn't a weak girl in the slightest. As a member of their team, she was hardly an amateur fighter.

"God fuckin damn-it, Sammy!" she screamed, punching him in the side with on arm still around him. "I thought you weren't fucking coming!"

He caught her arm under his elbow and broke the hold. "What the hell gave you that idea?" he asked, throwing her against the wall.

She grabbed his nose and squeezed. "You're such a fuckin dumbass." she said. "The OSG heard about today's fight. They wanted to put you down."

Sam smacked her arm away and punched her shoulder, and shook his head back and forth. "They got money riding on the other guy?"

"Uh…yeah no shit." she said.

Sam closed the door, and faced the others in the room. A short guy with spiked black hair and a full facial tattoo wearing the same exact thing threw his cards down on the table. "Dude….we thought they pounded you." His buddy sitting across from him, same height, hair, build, and tattoo nodded. Sam always assumed they were twins, but only one of them spoke.

"Sam…."

Another girl sitting in a corner in the back with her feet up on the table raised her head and blew a cloud of smoke out of her nose. Her hair was long, but cut jagged and spiked in the back. Her snakebite and nose piercing had fake black gems in their casts. Her eyes black with dark makeup, and her lips red as cherry from gloss. She wore the same thing as everyone else, but her outfit included an actual chain looped around her jacket like a sling, a spiked collar around her neck, and boots with spiked rivets holding down the laces. She was no doubt the ring leader.

"Sam…Sam….oh Sammy boy…" she sighed, blowing smoke out her lips. After flicking her butt on the ground, she got up and slapped Sam on the shoulder. "You're here now, so nothing else fuckin matters people." she said. "You feelin up to this, Sammy boy?"

He nodded. "Fuck yeah I do." he said. "Hell fuckin yeah."

-o0o-

"So….it was at the Knitting Factory?" the detective asked, "Are you sure?"

"I was there, lady." he said. "I'm sure."

She just held her head in her hands and sighed. "So….what are their names?"

"Whose names?"

"The names of your gang members?"

He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "We're not in a gang." he said. "We just do the job you cops are fuckin paid to do."

"Vigilantes?" she asked.

"You could call us that."

"Vigilantes in grunge biker outfits?" she asked, holding up a picture from her stack on the table.

Sam looked it over. It was the girl who greeted him so emphatically. The girl he called Trin. The picture was obviously taken from a security camera, and depicted her holding a bat over a Latino guy in a white extra large t-shirt holding a knife on one of the parking garage floors for an old casino. "I'm not mentioning any names." he said.

"Sam listen…can I call you Sam?" she asked.

He nodded dismissingly. "I really don't care." he said. "It's not like I'm leaving this place on my own, is it?"

"Sam, you have to give me something here." she said. "The defense attorneys aren't going to cut you any breaks if you just keep telling stories like these."

"I'm not giving you any names, lady."

"And why not?"

"Because they're all dead!" he screamed. "They're fucking dead!"

She was taken back by his outburst, but held up her hand to the glass to keep her partner from barging in. "..If they're dead…then let the family members claim the bodies. Let them be buried in peace."

Sam laughed and shook his head while staring at the floor. "Do you know what happens when we die?" he asked, "Our bodies turn the dust from whence we came. They lived their lives. Now that they're dead, I don't think they give a shit how they're buried. I know I won't."

She sighed and leaned forward on the table. "It's sad that you think that…." she said. "I'm sorry they died."

He nodded his head slowly up and down. "Yeah…..you're not the only one…..besides, you assholes killed them. They're blood is on you." He put his head down on the table and covered his head with his hands.

She got up and left the room silently. Her partner asked, "You want me to take a crack at him?"

She shook her head. "No…but, do you think the captain has any cigarettes on him?"

"Probably." he said. "Why?"

"For the kid." she said. "He might open up to me more. I knew there was a story behind this kid, but….damn."

He nodded in understanding and left. She stood there looking at him threw the glass for a few minutes. Sam had gotten up and became annoyed with his handcuff as he walked back and forth in the interrogation room. Her partner came back and handed her a square pack and a lighter.

Sam sat down when she came back in, and she set something down on the table. "What's that?" he asked.

"You look like you could use one."

Sam picked the pack of ultra-light cigarettes and pulled one out. He placed it between his lips and sucked air in as he flicked the lighter. Once the ember caught, he set the lighter down and sucked the cloud in slowly, but immediately started coughing. He regained his composure and said, "I don't smoke."

She gave him a funny look. "Then…why did you pick that up and….oh..never mind." Sam took another puff and blew out a ring. "I thought you said you didn't smoke."

"I don't he said," blowing the rest out in one big cloud. "I never said I didn't know how."

She shook her head back and forth. "You are some kid…" she said. "So….is this the part I've been waiting for?"

Sam nodded.

-o0o-

With the rest of his group in toe, Sam walked back up to the dance floor now complete with a ring of people surrounding the center of the room. The crowd from outside had grown, and when Sam made his appearance, everyone went wild. They all gave him pats on the back and shoulder punches as he made his way through the crowd and into the center of the room.

One person, in the midst of the chaotic and energetic crowd, was not so happy. A large, heavy set and a little fat Latino man with a shaved head threw air punches to the side. He saw Sam and went wide eyed.

"Thought I wouldn't show?" Sam asked. "Don't worry. I got plenty for your fat fuckin ass too."

"You were supposed to be fuckin cream, essahy!" the Mexican guy wearing extremely large tan chino shorts and a wife-beater tank looked around. The tan bandana around his ankles told Sam he was part of the OSG just as the kid he fought in the school parking lot.

"_Why do these assholes have it out for me?"_ he thought while cracking his neck and bouncing around in place.

Sam slid his jacket off and ripped his t-shirt off like a used rag. The jacket he threw at Trin, and the shirt he threw at the fat Mexican's face.

The shirt landed over his eyes, and Sam sent a blind flying punch into the black material. The crowd went insane and started throwing their hands in the air when the first punch was thrown.

The Mexican fell on his butt, and Sam grabbed him by the ears and repeated kneed him in the face over and over until the shirt felt wet and turned a shade of red. Sam stepped back and threw a spinning back kick into the face for the final knockout blow. The Mexican fell back into a motionless heap, and the crowd started cheering and throwing beer bottles at the wall behind them.

In the middle of the circle, Sam got on one knee, untied his bandana from around his head, and wrapped it around his bicep. He got up from his praying position and turned around. "That it?!" he screamed. "COME ON!"

Two more, much lighter and faster looking Mexican guy wearing the same thing as their fallen comrade. Both of them charged forward and threw wild swings that Sam easily caught with his hands. One swing came down in front of Sam, and he stepped to the side while throwing an elbow into his opponent's back. The Mexican screamed and arched his back as the blow knocked the wind out of him.

The other opponent shoved his comrade to the side and threw a decent haymaker. Sam caught the arm and threw the Mexican over his shoulder.

The counter move was brilliant; probably one of Sam's specialties. The Mexican, flailing in the air, seemed to linger over Sam's back, almost hovering in slow motion, as Sam pulled him down to a crashing fall with the same force as falling four stories. Sam still had the guy's caught arm in his hand, and he leaned back on the ground in an arm bar, successfully popping the shoulder out of place and breaking the elbow.

The crowd screamed in the excitement and ecstasy of the show. With his hands in the air, Sam gave the crow what he wanted. The more the fun for the crowd, the bigger his cut would be.

"WHOSE NEXT!"

Three more, dressed in the same fashion, jumped out of the crowd holding pieces of rebar with the bandanas wrapped around their faces like bandits.

"_Oh..shit…"_

The first one came at with a swing down, and Sam punched the guy in the shoulder and kicked him in the side of the knee before the metal bar came down in full swing. The gangster fell to one knee, and Sam pulled the rebar from his hands while sending a sidekick into the his chest. The second tried hitting his head with a baseball bat swing. With both hands on the rebar, Sam blocked the strike with all his might. The resonation and vibration in his hands almost made him lose his grip, but he remained focused enough to throw a kick into the groin.

The finishing move was about ready to be thrown, but the third opponent was already too close. Sam had to direct his attention to the new threat and decided to go on offense. He swung fast and down into the guy's collarbone, and back up just as fast across the face. The bandana flew off his face followed by a spurt of blood and a few teeth. The spinning momentum he picked up caused Sam to follow up with a jump back kick to the chest. Now, in lots of pain and agony, the guy dropped his metal bar and fell backwards holding his shoulder.

The second masked opponent still stood, holding himself, but became emboldened and tried to bring his arm up. Sam wasted no time by dropping his borrowed weapon, and brought his hands up. The crowd became almost silent by the strange choice Sam made with his choice of weaponry, but everything soon became apparent.

The Mexican banger tried to backhand Sam, but he blocked the strike by stepping forward lightning fast and catching the arm. He brought his knee into the guy's elbow, and the weapon dropped from his hand as the joint popped open the elbow broke. Sam then slammed the ridge of his arm against the gangster's nose, and stepped behind his enemy while facing him to the side. He grabbed the guy's throat and threw him back while kicking his legs out from under him. The throw sent the Mexican in a reclining position through the air, and he fell hard on the ground gasping for air and holding his elbow.

Sam bent down for a second to catch his breath. The crowd not only loved him, was cheering for him, but was begging for more.

"_Oh…oh fuck no…"_

There's a fine line between entertainment and doom. If Sam got the crowd too excited too many people would try to take him on. Eventually, there would be too many to deal with and he'd become overwhelmed. It was still early in the fight, but he needed to dial it back to keep his own life in check.

-o0o-

"Hang on there." the detective said, holding up her hand. "You're telling me you took out all those OSG?"

He nodded.

"In a fight club match?"

He nodded.

"All thirteen of those assholes?"

"I'm not sure." he said. "At least that many….but that's when everything went all fucking wrong."

"That's when we came in."

He nodded.

-o0o-

The circle had grown wider with each person Sam laid out on the ground. The numbers had grown from six to sixteen, and each wave of attackers had become harder and harder to fight. After the fifth round, Sam brought a skinny plastic bat with barbed wire down into another Mexican gang member's face. The banger was too weak, in enough pain, and exhausted to even squirm enough to dislodge the makeshift weapon. Now, out of breath, sweating profusely, and even laughing slightly, Sam brought a knee up onto the guy's chest and raised his hand up in the air like he had just slain a beast. The black bandana around his arm wavered in the air.

Just then, in the heat of the moment, in the chaos of screaming people and dieing bodies, the worst possible thing happened.

The back entrance usually kept locked up twenty-four seven that faced Virginia Street broke open and two cans of tear gas rolled in-between peoples feet. One of the cans rolled passed Sam's feet in the circle, and he jumped back.

"RAID!"

The chaotic and frenzied crowd now grew fierce. The fighting they had witnessed and the hype they felt emboldened them to run up to the seven or eight SWAT officers swarming the room. The gas and tazing did little at first, but soon the police were overrun. The leader of the team gave the order to use live ammo.

With sub-machineguns, the police behind their riot shields pot shot down person after person. In a matter of seconds, ten or more bystanders head fallen dead or dieing from hemorrhaging and impact. The police failed to realize they weren't the only ones with guns.

More than a few spectators pulled out small pistols. The bouncer pulled a shotgun out from behind the counter, and Sam's crew all drew small clip loaded pistols from their various persons.

The police could have easily taken out the shooters without much risk, but in order to take down only the shooters and not kill everyone, the lead SWAT officer threw out a flash bang.

Sam had dropped to the ground and lay still among the squirming bodies in order to wait until he saw an opening to run, but now that gunfire sounded everywhere, there was almost no chance of that happening.

What made his chances even slimmer was the flash bang that landed right in front of him on the floor. He was the only one who noticed.

"OH SHIT!"

He tried to cover his ears and closed his eyes in time, but the grenade went off too soon. The blinding light, extreme vibration through the air, change in vacuum atmospheric pressure, and intense heat paralyzed him in intense pain. His ear rang louder than anything he had ever experienced and his eyes felt burnt as if he had looked at the sun for a over minute. His body felt ridged and frozen, and he couldn't breath.

The lead officer tapped his helmet and motioned for the rest of the team to move forward while everyone else was incapacitated. Each officer methodically found someone squirming with a weapon and put a bullet through their heads.

Sam could feel one SWAT turning his body over on the ground, but the blood on his close and frozen expression suggested he was dead, so the officer moved on.

Some people less affected by the grenade ran out the alley entrance with guns in their hands. The command officer yelled at his team to give chase. The police rushed out the back and ran down the alley towards the fleeing targets.

-o0o-

"Holy shit….."

Sam nodded. "Yeah….that shit hurt worse than hell itself." he said, putting out his cigarette in an ashtray in the center of the table. "I learned later there was an informant staking the place out."

The detective put her hands in front of her and asked, "So…how did you manage to get out of there?"

Sam rubbed his eyes and groaned when he remembered that struggle. "I laid there for what felt like forever, trying to force my body to move at least a fuckin inch or two." he shook his head slowly. "It wasn't happening….at all."

"How long did it take to stand again?"

"A few minutes." he said. "I had to throw up a couple of times, I think…."

"So…" she leaned back in her chair and laughed. "Damn….Well, how did you get the hell out of there?"

"That…" he sighed, "….I'm not sure of…."

-o0o-

Sam knew more and more police would show up on scene soon. As he stumbled and limped across the room, some drool and vomit still dripping from his chin, he crawled his way out the alley entrance the way the SWAT team went, using the "lighting never strikes the same place twice" logic.

A bunch of cooks, and other employees of the establishments with backdoors to the alleys had opened their doors to investigate the noise and commotion. When they saw Sam stumble out, coughing and throwing up, most of them immediately closed their doors and locked them. Sam was all alone and was about to pass out in the alley, until a cook in greasy white clothes grabbed him by the waist and pulled him inside right before the police showed up again to secure the area.

The cook locked the door behind him and slapped Sam in the face a few times to wake him up from his daze. "Hey, kid! Are you ok? What the fuckin hell happened back there?"

It was no use. Sam blacked out and fell limp in the man's arms.

* * *

Lost of violence and language, huh? Sometimes the situation calls for it...sorry.

I wish I could thank every person who left something for me in person. That would make my day. Until next time!


	21. I Just Want to Sleep

This one is a bit shorter than usual (only a bit), but I expect to update more frequently in the future. Sorry for being away for so long. I got blisters on my fingers from rock climbing over the weekend. It feels so liberating to right again and keep this going, and it's all thanks to you.

School is really taking up time, huh! Geez...unbelievable... You know, I really wish I could get closer to my story and my readers more often, but school is making that hard...plus the training for wrestling...plus the community college classes...plus my own personal minor injuries that keep me off my laptop...ughhmeguuhh...seriously not cool.

Well, enough about me ranting. Sorry, I don't usually do that, but I felt like i owed you all an explanation.

Assassin's Creed, plus any other trademark label I mention do not belong to me. (I think I even mentioned Scoopers in there somewhere. It's a pretty sweet old fashioned diner.)

* * *

Vorkoff gestured to the small table inside the plane after they made their way up the small stairs. Kana pulled the door down behind them, replacing all the noise from the runway with complete silence. "I'd love to catch up with you, but for now, I'm just the pilot." Sam turned and saw a very neatly shaven crew cut man in a black work suit sitting tensely in the cabin. The man motioned for Sam to sit down. Vorkoff turned his gaze to Kana, and said, "Why don't we chat while they bore each other to death?" he asked her.

"Um…" Kana took the hint and agreed. "Ok, sure." Vorkoff led to her to the front of the plane where she took the co-pilot seat.

"Sit down, please." the man said in English, with a low and tired voice.

Sam obeyed and folding his hands across the table. "So are you the guy who finally tells me everything?" he asked, reverting to English. "I'm getting sick of being jerked around all the time. It's this kind of shit that really sets me off, and you and I both know that's not a good thing. Maybe you've heard about the mess from last time that happened."

He put up his hands and said, "Relax. Just let me speak."

"Fine,…" Sam sighed. "This better be what I want to hear."

"And what exactly do you want to hear?" he asked, obviously sharing Sam's impatient trait, "Why don't you just tell me, and we can go on our merry ways like good little boys and girls."

Sam almost laughed. "That was a joke right?"

"Yeah…that was a joke."

"Cause like hell we'd be that lucky…"

"You said it…"

Sam yawned and rubbed his neck. "So….just give me a rundown here."

"Well, I'm guessing it's pretty safe to assume you know who Mr. Clifford is."

"Who?" Sam asked. "I don't think I do."

"Really? White hair, a little old, you helped escort him…ring a bell?"

"You mean Mr. White?" Sam asked, "That bastard?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's the guy." he said. "I'm going ton take another wild stab and say you're not fond of the him?"

Sam shrugged. "I wouldn't take a bullet for him, if that's what your asking." he said. "I did my job, and now, apparently, my job is over with that guy. To be honest, I was half expecting to lead the escort team, but now I'm here. Mind if I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"Why am I here?" Sam asked. "I was under the impression I could go home. I'm only saying this because my body is shot and I need some rest."

The man sighed. "Mr. Clifford has asked me to ask you for a favor. It's a pretty big one, but he had no one else to turn to."

"Why couldn't he have asked me in person? Wait, I have a better question. Why the hell would he think I'd do this for him?"

The plane started to move down the runway, and Vorkoff yelled from the cockpit. "I would tell you to put your seatbelt on, but in know it would do anything! Just don't hit your head in the next minute! After that, and it's on you!" Kana could be heard laughing.

"That's why…" he said, pointing to the front of the plane.

"What?" Sam asked, shaking his head, "You mean Kana? What about her?"

"Mr. Clifford…as you know…is a Templar. I'm not going to try and sugar coat this. He has aided in killing a lot of your fellow assassins, and to him they were just angry mercenaries out with a vendetta."

Sam laughed. "I guess that might fit the description, sure. So what?"

"He thinks you have a soft spot." he said. "He's never seen a warrior spirit like you have such a caring bond with someone."

"He told you that?" Sam asked. "What was he evaluating me? Testing me?"

"Look, I don't know. He just seems to think you can help him."

The plane leveled out in the air, and Vorkoff yelled back, "Ok! You can hurt yourselves now!"

The man shook his head in annoyance. "You assassins sure do come with different attitudes."

"Help with what?" Sam asked, not straying from the original question.

The man cleared his throat. "Mr. Clifford thinks his son is in danger."

"He has a son?" Sam asked. "Danger from what? Templars?"

"No, not Templars….something more local."

"Mafia?" Sam asked, "Are they still around?"

"Yeah, but not the mafia. Probably a gang branching out from Las Angeles. In don't really know much about it. I think Templars are supplying this gang with weapons. It's their own way of taking over a city without actually sticking in there noses. His son is a hell of a trouble maker, and may have gotten himself into something. Mr. Clifford hasn't seen him in a few months because of…work…" he said. "He's asking you, as a favor, to get him out of there and help bring him back to him."

Sam stood and shook his head back and forth. "I don't want to do this."

"He's willing to offer you something you might like."

"Which is?"

"An opportunity."

Sam looked perplexed. "An opportunity for what?"

The man got up and looked him in the eye. "An opportunity…." he said, slowly and methodically, "….for more pieces on the table your brotherhood can work with."

Arc 2 Chapter 3

"Hey, kid….wake up."

Sam felt a slap across his face, but his foggy mind only registered some faint tingling. As the seconds dragged on, the feeling of a burning sensation got worse.

"Wake up, dude….you look kinda funky with yer tongue hangin out."

The final slap, hard and drawn out, cause Sam to sit upright instantly and put up his hands. The man slapping him wearing a white, greasy cooking uniform put his hands up and backed away in surprise by his sudden state of alertness.

"Where am I!" Sam growled. "I'll kill you!" He tried to get up off the vacant table next to an old slot machine in a room no bigger than a bar, and fell on all fours. His sudden movement had caused an overwhelming light headed sensation as blood rushed away from his heart. "Shit….ahhhh…." he hoarsely whispered, trying desperately to think and move through the fog surrounding his head.

The man held out a glass of water, and Sam snatched it up and gulped it down. He slammed the empty glass on the table and panted. Now, having gained some of his strength back, he grabbed the man by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "Who are you!"

"Shhhhhhh!" The man put a hand up to his mouth. "Quiet, you dumbass!"

Sam looked around, and saw the entire little casino empty and open dinner counter vacant. "There's no one here."

"Not in here." he pointed towards the backdoor. "Out there. There's police everywhere, man!"

Sam looked the man over. He appeared almost seventy, but it was obvious that the extra years and strange expression he had were due to drugs years ago. His calm demeanor about the whole situation implied he was probably in the military at some point before turning into the fry cook he ended up as.

"You oughta be more careful, man." he said, sounding like a hippy, "Those cops have been running around like hungry dogs outside for the passed hour. Those gun shots next door made everybody freak, man. It's like everybody got a bad trip from their beer and ran out of here." He started laughing. "It was pretty funny, man."

Sam let him go, and noticed he lacked a shirt. "You have a jacket?" he asked, more demanding than asking. "I can't leave looking like this."

"You in trouble, man?" the hippy asked. "I know this guy who can…"

Sam grabbed an overcoat from a chair someone had left earlier in their panic rush out of the building, and headed for the door before listening to any more words from the brain damaged cook. Inside the pocket was a twenty, and he used that to buy two rock star recovery cans from the liquor store next door, and plain white t-shirt from a souvenir shop across the street.

The old hippy wasn't entirely wrong. There were a decent amount of cop cars circling about, and a couple parked in front of the alley's entrances. That was the last thing Sam wanted.

"_Damn-it…." _he cursed_. "I need to get back inside." _It wasn't exactly the place he wanted to be, but his prize money was in there. A few ideas went through his head, but nothing seemed solid enough to try. If someone saw him, he'd have to answer some questions. If cops saw his face close up, they might realize he was inside earlier. He even considered jumping a policeman and taking his uniform somehow, but that was more of a pipe dream than anything else he had thought of. He had to face the inevitable: He'd have to be kicked out of his apartment.

He slowly trudged back down the sidewalks to the parking garage he had stashed his bike, and took the elevator up the stairs while sipping on his second rock star that hour. When he reached his bike, he mounted and started the engine. As the pistons fired up and the choke opened, he heard the sounds of ambulance and fire trucks rushing towards the scene of the crime. _"I must have been out for only a few minutes."_ he thought. He rode away down the ramps and into the street. _"Damn….this sucks."_

The amount of first response units hitting downtown annoyed Sam. He had to pull over up onto the curb almost every minute as a vehicle with its sirens passed by. When he did get back home, he parked his bike behind the building and headed for the front door.

The last person he expected to see was sitting on the railing of the walkway up to the door, one foot hooked through the railing, one foot dangling back and forth.

"Darek?" Sam asked, almost as if he was seeing a mirage.

Darek jumped off onto his feet and crossed his arms. "You know how hard it is to find you?" he asked, poking him in the chest. "I've been looking for you since school got out. It's almost ten thirty. You do the math, bro."

"Why the fuck were you looking for me?" Sam asked. "Did I tell you to fuck off?"

Darek shrugged. "Well, yeah, but you a little nicer about it. I heard from your teacher who rides a bike that he sees you downtown around here a lot riding around at night. This place seemed…to fit you. It was a lucky guess."

Sam shook his head. "Dude….I am wiped the fuck out." he said. "I'm going to bed. Go home."

"I don't know if you can do that."

"Whatever…" Sam wasn't listening. He just opened the door and headed downstairs to his room. He threw off all his clothes in a pile in the corner and threw on a pair of slim faded boot cut jeans with holes in the knees and a black hooded shirt with no sleeves. He pulled the hood up and threw himself onto his bed, almost instantly falling asleep. "Fuckin-A…." he sighed before falling asleep.

Not even thirty seconds later, there was a loud and thorough knock on the door that broke Sam's tranquility. "What the fuck do you want!?"

"Get the fuck out!"

It was the voice of his landlord.

"_Oh..shit.."_ He thought. "I don't have the money!"

"I know!" he said, opening the door with his master ring of keys. "I'm throwing your ass out."

"In the middle of the night?" Sam sat up and groaned. "Can it wait til morning?"

The fat old man lit a cigarette and blew a cloud towards Sam. "No." he said, holding a cellphone out in his hand, "Get out before I call the police. I know you were downtown when shit hit the fan. It's all over the news."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"That jacket you were wearing! One of the dead kids on the news was wearing one like it!"

"Oh…" Sam nodded. "You saw that, huh?…Okay…fine…" He pulled his shoes on and pulled a tattered brown slim leather jacket with extra long sleeves and straps around the waist, cuffs, and collar over his shoulders. He fished his other pants for his keys and phone before flipping the old man the bird and throwing his apartment key on the floor. "Go ahead and keep the rest of my shit." Sam said. "Fuck you later you old sagging waste bag."

Sam pulled the jacket on while waling out and was surprised to Darek still sitting on the railing. "You knew about this was going to happen?"

"I had a hunch." he said. "You aren't good at keeping your nose down."

Sam sat down on the railing next to him and sighed. "You should still go home."

"What about you, man?" he asked. "You look like hell and you need a place to stay, right?"

"Yeah…." Sam sighed. "I already do have a place to stay."

Darek got up and looked at him. "Where?"

"One of the professor mansions on the university campus." Sam said. "It's my dad's place. I haven't been there in a couple of months, but I always kept the key."

Sam started to walk towards the back of the building, and Darek followed. "Wait, you could live in a mansion by yourself, but instead you chose to live in a dump like this?"

Sam rubbed his eyes. "Last time I saw the man…we didn't get along so well….I figured I'd stay by myself. If he came home, he'd understand why I left."

"But your going back now?" Darek asked as Sam mounted his bike. "Hang on, I'm coming with you." He put an arm around Sam's waist and got on behind him.

"What the hell? Get off, dude!" Sam tried to shake him off, but Darek was too strong and had an almost death grip around his waist. "Seriously! Go home!"

"No way." he said. "I'm dieing to see this mansion you have had up your sleeve that you never told anyone about."

"It's not really a mansion.." he said. "It's just a house."

"Yeah! On campus! Let's hit the road!"

"Darek, I'm serious. I just want to find somewhere to sleep and just sleep off this night, ok?" he asked, starting the engine. "I'm begging you. Let me just go."

"Nope." he said. "I've taken it upon myself to get you home safe and sound. Besides, I've been looking for you all night. You owe me."

Sam sighed while slowly rolling forward. "You haven't actually done anything for me."

"Shut up and drive." he said.

Sam rolled onto the street and came to a stoplight. "You planning on staying all night or are you going home sometime?"

"I figured you'd be nice enough to have me over…since it's a mansion and all."

"It's not really a mansion." Sam said. "Hell, I'm not really sure where this place is exactly. It's been a while."

"That's bullshit, and you're not fooling anyone. Just drive."

The light turned green, and Sam drive north up passed forth street, crossed the I-95 overpass, and drove directly into UNR campus grounds. The college campus was huge. Almost a little town inside Reno, with dorms large enough and enough rented housing for almost one hundred thousand students. The campus sat on the slope of a hill leading up to adjacent highways, and on that hill in-between the medical building and the art hall, stood about two dozen brownstone style homes all next to each other with small parking garages built in on the bottom floor. When Sam turned down the street into the row of houses, Darek realized what Sam meant.

"Wow…they all look exactly the same." he shouted.

Sam shouted back, "See? I don't remember what the last two numbers were!"

Darek pointed forward, and Sam followed his finger towards two parked police cars outside one of the houses. It was the only house without any cars parked in front of it, and Sam recognized it for his home.

"Oh shit…" he mumbled to himself. "Shit…."

The two cops were, instead of knocking on his door, were knocking on the door of his neighbor next door. The man talking to police under the porch light shook his head and said something when one officer pointed to the house nextdoor.

"You have to stop." Darek said as Sam slowed down.

Sam agreed. "Yeah…we'll look suspicious."

"No…because we didn't do anything." he said. "They're just here to talk to the neighbors."

"_We'll you may not have done anything, but I have…"_ Sam thought. Nevertheless, he drove up his driveway and dismounted. He used his key to open his garage and pushed the bike inside, hoping the police wouldn't pay too close attention to him.

Unfortunately, Darek's big mouth made that impossible. "Evening officers!" he said, waving to the two men in uniform.

"Damn…" Sam muttered under his breath while waling out onto his driveway and waving as well. "Is something the matter?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

The officers waved back and motioned for them to walk over to the neighbors' to talk to them. Sam walked behind Darek, feeling a little fidgety. They reached the front steps of the neighbors and the five of them stood in the porch light. One officer looked at Sam and pointed at him. "You live next door?" he asked.

Sam nodded, his face expressionless. He may have looked disinterested, but it took a lot of biting his own cheek to keep his straight face. "Yeah." he said. "Why? What's going on?"

"Did you lose your wallet, kid?" the officer asked.

Sam reached around and felt his back pocket. Nothing. "Oh…fuck..yeah it looks like it did."

The officer held out a brown leather wallet and opened it up. "This is you, right?" The drivers license was indeed Sam's.

"Oh. Yeah it is. Where did you find it?" he genuinely asked.

"Crime scene downtown." he said. "We came by to ask you a few questions."

"For one," the other officer said, "Why doesn't your neighbor here.." he pointed to the man standing next to him in pajamas "..know who you are."

Sam looked at the man. His hair was a short brown mess, probably due to being woken up. He wore thick glasses, and appeared thin under the light. Definitly an intellectual type.

Darek spoke up as he slung an arm around his shoulder. "He's been staying with me for the passed couple of months since his dad went out of town for work."

The police didn't look to convinced.

"My father is a math prof at the university." Sam said. "He's never really home, so I stay with this guy."

The police still didn't look to convinced.

"Is your father a math professor?" the man in glasses asked. Sam nodded. "IS his last name Clifford?"

Sam nodded again. "How'd you know?"

"The administration board asked me to keep track of all his mail." he said.

The police started to ease up. Clifford was the last name on the boy's driver's license, so it made sense, but not everything fit.

"Where were you these evening?" the officer asked Sam.

"With Darek…" Sam pointed to Darek next to him, "…at football, then Scoopers."

Darek's letterman jacket that he wore supported Sam's claim. Not everything was in place, but the police were tired from running around all day and it didn't seem too suspicious. "Okay, here." he handed Sam the wallet and started to walk away with his partner. "Take care now."

"You too, officer." he said.

They all watched the police leave, then turned to each other. The man pointed towards his door, and said, "Let me get you your father's mail before I forget and go back to sleep."

"Uh..thanks.."

When the man walked inside, Sam let out a long sigh of relief. Darek patted him on the back and whispered in his ear, "You have some explaining to do, man." He held out his hand. "Give me the key." he said. "I want to take a shower."

Sam reached into his pocket and slapped his keys down into his palm. "Here." he said. "Don't make a mess."

Darek walked away and said, "Whatever, dude…"

Sam sat down on his neighbor's porch and sighed heavily. In a second, he broke out into a slight laughter. "haha…man…That was close." He looked up into the dark sky and admired a few stars as the hour pushed eleven.

"I'm still looking for the mail!" Sam heard the man say through the open door.

Sam turned back and started to shouted, "That's fine! I'm alright! If you don't find it, I don't mind waiting til morn….." but trailed off when someone he really didn't expect to see caught his eye.

-o0o-

The noise of people talking and the door opening and closing woke her up from her bed upstairs. "mmph…" she moaned, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Dad?…." she asked, though her small voice could barely reach across her own room. Her short shoulder length slightly wavy hair was tangled in a few places where she had laid her head down. Once she sat up, she had to feel her bedside desk for her glasses and put them on, which now covered her wide puppy sized almond shaped eyes that expressed a sleepy mood.

She stood, opened her door, and yawned. _"Why is dad up so late?" _she asked herself, _"This is weird….I hope isn't calling the hospital for a check up…."_

She heard her father yell out, "I'm still looking for the mail!"

A familiar voice from downstairs answered back. It wasn't a common voice she heard everyday, just a voice that had stuck in her mind ever since she had first heard it that day in the library. It was the voice belonging to someone she thought about everyday, but had never actually talked to until now.

The realization she had she dismissed as an impossibility. That would be absurd. There was no possible reason she could brainstorm that would put him at her house at this hour. No reason at all.

Perhaps all science, mathematics, and logic failed her. It was her assumption that logic and reasoning dictated the world's happenings. Her experiences were all proof of that, but now, as she stared with wide eyes at the open door of her home.

"That's fine! I'm alright! If you don't find it, I don't mind waiting til morn…"

The figure sitting on her front porch trailed off when he saw her, and she stopped dead in her tracks by the stairs as her eyes recognized who she was looking at.

-o0o-

"What the…" Sam got up and adjusted his jacket. "This is your house?"

She just looked at him, dumbfounded to speak. "I uh….I…."

Her father walked in the living room and said, "Sorry I couldn't find any of it." he said. "I has to be under my own mail somewhere."

"Huh?" Sam looked up. "Oh…right. No, that's fine. I'm in no hurry. It's not my mail anyway. Um…I didn't know this was your house."

"Our house?" the man asked, turning around to see his daughter standing still like a statue, nervously, looking at Sam. "Wait…you know my daughter?"

"Yeah, well we met earlier.." he said. "I accidentally knocked her down. I'm still sorry about that." he said to her. "I know your probably mad, but it really was an accident."

"Oh, so it was you the nurse was talking about." he said, hands on his hips. "I picked her up this morning, and the nurse said something about a guy bringing her in."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that was me." he said. "Like I said, I'm sorry about that."

Her father was about to start talking again, probably ranting or worse, until she spoke up. "I'm ok…"

Her father looked back and raised an eyebrow. "What did you say, sweetheart?"

She looked up from the floor, then away from Sam's eyes. "I'm ok…." she said in a shy and quiet voice mixed with nervousness and uncertainty. "…It doesn't hurt…"

Her father asked, "Are you sure?"

She slowly nodded.

"Good…" Sam sighed, relieved. "I felt really bad about all that. Still….if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me know." He turned to her father. "I don't think I got a chance to tell you my name." he said. "Samuel Clifford, but you can call me Sam."

Sam held out his hand, and he shook it. "Lorenzo Gorlioni." he said. "My daughter's name is Henrietta."

"Henrietta…Henrietta…." Sam rolled the name over his tongue a few times. "That's a beautiful name." he said. "I'm really serious. Usually names don't stand out to me, but that one has quite a lovely ring to it."

Henrietta blushed, and found something by her feet fascinating. "Thanks…." she mumbled barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

Lorenzo smiled. "Samuel. I like that name. You look like a Samuel."

"Thanks." Sam said. "Well, I should probably get going. I don't want to keep you up more than I already have."

"It's not your fault." he said. "The police were more than happy to beat you to it."

Sam laughed. "Well…goodnight then." he said, turning towards the night of the street.

"Wait!"

A small and weak, but silky voice had spoken up. Henrietta recognized it as her own, but did not remember giving her mouth the command to say that simple word. She did feel a sudden urge to get his attention, but never acted on it. Or, maybe she did.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, waiting for her response. "What is it, Henrietta?….Man…that name is like candy when you say it. Sorry, I just can't get over your name." he laughed. "Sorry, I interrupted. What did you want to say?"

She stuttered at first, but managed to say, "Thank you….Sam."

"Your welcome.." he said, "…Although I'm not sure how much help I was."

Sam turned his attention back to Lorenzo and said, "Good night, sir. Sorry for the ruckus."

"Not at all." he said. "If anything, I'm glad I could meet one of Henrietta's friends."

Henrietta blushed and looked at Sam to see if he'd say anything, but instead of what she expected, he looked back at her with a smile as he walked away towards his house and said, "Bye Henrietta! See ya at school tomorrow!"

Lorenzo closed the door and smiled. "Nice kid." he said, yawning. He looked down at his daughters embarrassed red and dreamy expression as she stared at the door. "Um…Henrietta? It's time to go…back …to…sleep?….Hello?"

* * *

Man it's getting late, and I gotta be up at 4:30...not cool...

Well, please leave comments and oppinions behind before you navigate away to bigger and better things on the web. (Haha...like the internet can keep people entertained forever...what a load, right?)


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